The Chains that Bind Us
by Pilgrim of Rivia
Summary: You and I had to go across the entire world, to the stars, to hell and to the heavens just to be happy. You and I had to die in order to realize how we could have lived. To battle against the darkness and shatter the chains that bound us.
1. Past the Veil: Crona's Slave?

**This story is a deviation of the main plot of Soul Eater and I've swapped a few things as you'll become aware as time goes on. Though I have to say I like the challenge of trying to make something a little more serious out of the sometimes comical tone of Soul Eater. This first chapter feels a little, awkward to me. Though I hope you'll enjoy the story!**

Behind a curtain separating two worlds like mirror images, stood a city and civilization on the brink of extinction. The war with Hell had burned away all their armies, all their weapons and their heroes. And now, in a city of very little political or strategic importance The People were gathering to make their final stand and buy their priests the time they needed to tear a rift through the curtain that separated their world from the spirit world and save themselves from complete destruction at the hands of the daemons of Hell.

In the innermost plaza of the little city the priests chanted feverishly as the portal they had built began to glow with life. Soldiers and civilians alike stood shoulder to shoulder, a living shield between their adversaries and their species' only means of survival: a jump into the Spirit World and to subsequently invade it for a new home.

"Is there any hope left? A chance of victory?" asked one as she dropped her pauldron and its broken strap off her shoulder as she took her place ahead of the spear lines.

"None. We simply slay all that approach until the priests open the portal. Or keep the portal from annihilation for a brief while and of course sell our lives most dearly to the daemons" answered the one who led them. Clear lines from the brim of his eyes cut staggering paths through his soot-caked skin. He had wept for days now in sorrow and in rage.

"I like that plan" said one of the soldier's companions.

"I do as well" answered the leader.

The children warriors were the ragged scraps left from the Daemon Hunter's squire bands. Long had they accepted that they had outlived their grim but great masters and that it fell upon their young shoulders to see the end of their world.

Looking past his fellows, the leader gazed impassively at the glistening hordes miles before them. The entire valley in which the city was nestled in, hundreds of miles wide was alight with the torches or sometimes the skin of the beasts that had come to end them. Glancing above him he couldn't see the sun past all the smoke and haze from the burning cities.

"At least we have a handful of surviving slaves. They will prove useful no?" smiled one of the leader's companions as he jerked another of his fellows brutally by a chain collar and whipped him for good measure.

This was the end and Hell had followed them all the way here. They would not stop until all life was engulfed by the shadows. And they could not stop fighting until they were all dead, such was the demand of the Queen.

-0-

"And so you see that is how Lord Death tore the Veil and brought forth the first great Krieger into our world. Forming a partnership with it as is now tradition he and his Krieger defeated the greatest daemons of Hell and prevented the end of the world" spoke Francesca brightly with her usual smile.

Teaching had been a great delight that year, especially with Maka being her model student.

From the corner of her eye she saw Maka's hand shoot up.

"Yes Maka?"

"But what is a Krieger? We've learned a lot about them but I notice that there are no descriptions or pictures of them"

Francesca frowned.

"That's true Maka. To be honest I don't know what one looks like, they are simply described as warriors of the greatest quality bonded to the worthiest of Meisters"

"And how is one chosen as worthy?"

Francesca smiled eagerly, this was the topic of her doctorate essay.

"It is a peculiar event really. Kriegers are always summoned from the Hallowed Forest, which is a haunted forest after Lord Death tore the Veil, it is the only place where they can be brought forth. But occasionally a talented Meister might merit one if he or she chooses to undertake the ritual of summoning but he or she must be a four or five star Meister of course" she explained in detail not wanting to leave anything out.

"But given to serendipity Kriegers might simply fall into our world by accident but these are the black sheep of the Kriegers because they are looked as omens of great suffering to come. And wouldn't you know it, the seven times a Krieger has fallen through catastrophes have followed"

Maka's eyes shined with an imagination that was clearly painting a vivid picture.

"And are those Kriegers free? The ones who fall through?"

"I'm afraid not dear. Kriegers are like wild dogs if not bound to a Meister, they create chaos and murder for fun or perhaps out of xenophobia considering they are in another world so different from their own"

"So how does one bind a Krieger?"

"By getting it to admit defeat and through a binding ritual of course. If it doesn't the Meister must slay it, an unbound Krieger is a dangerous thing. But we have to move on to-"

The bell rang and the rest of the students rose from their seats in a sudden jolt, clearly wishing to leave the two sided conversation about Kriegers and wanting to get to their lunch period as quickly as possible.

"I can't ever seem to want my students to want to stay" muttered Francesca as she saw her lines of students all but run out of the classroom, save Maka who as usual had questions.

"When was the last time that a Krieger entered our world?"

"About one hundred and fifty years ago but she refused to admit defeat, she was met and slain as soon as she left the rift circle"

"Rift circle?"

"Oh, yes it's the place where the Veil is weakest and where the Kriegers spill out through or are summoned in the Hallowed Forest. But I don't need remind you it's discouraged for students to go there for obvious reasons"

"Oh, of course" smiled Maka as she scooted away to lunch.

Francesca smiled, Maka was such a dear girl.

"Hey Francesca Lord Death wants a staff meeting right now" shouted another teacher Sid as he ducked in and out of her classroom in a hurry.

"Why? Is there something the matter?"

"He won't say but he wasn't his usual peppy self"

-0-

The leader of the group trailed his sword behind him as all madness and hatred had been loosed upon the lingering army of his people like a falling star. Screaming to the top of his lungs alongside his comrades they charged the flank of daemons as these marched eagerly through the alleys and streets of their little city.

"For death and ruin!" screamed the girl comrade before she leaped clear over the daemon shields of the side line and disappearing into the storm of bodies and metal.

He himself dodged the staggered lines of beastly monsters that charged him in turn, howling for his flesh. Running his blade between the chinks in their plates he struck them down one by one before slamming his emaciated bulk into one of the smaller daemons pushing it into one of its fellow's spears. A blade cracked across his back denting his old breastplate, he responded by arcing his entire body in a backhanded slash that severed a daemon's face in half.

"You do not deserve to exist monster!" he shrieked at the beast he had felled before he moved on to the next.

A howling daemon three times his side called him out in challenge and bellowed as it sought to run the little mortal down. At the leader's side were two of his comrades, all three spread out and charged like a trio of arrows towards the beast. One was clubbed away like a broken doll into a wall where from bloody impact the child soldier exploded. The second pierced the beast's knee with his blade before drawing away with his flail to fend off a trio of daemons who closed in on the private battle. The leader carved the daemon's neck open as it stumbled forward on its mangled knee. Hacking blood that poured from its mortal wound the beast clutched its neck in futile desperation. The leader dragged his sword forward as he charged towards the daemon lines that flowed like a tsunami towards him.

It never once dawned on him that he was charging alone, the storm of bodies and carnage screaming around him.

The daemons streamed into the desperate human skirmishes, killing them every which way as the humans fought back to the last. Jumping or dodging around the daemons and ducking under their powerful blows to slip a blade between the breastplates.

From the nearby stone formations bellowed an enormous fiery monster, led by its impish handlers.

It charged into the mass of soldiers as it swung its enormous arms left and right knocking friend and foe into the ground where it crushed them. Crunching daemon bone and metal armor under its clawed feet it continued by picking up masses of warriors and throwing them at the stone walls.

The leader continued to hack apart the smaller daemons with a viciousness that nurtured as of late only to be knocked down by the spiked mace of a daemon marauder. His would be killer smashed the mace on his breastplate, piercing it, only to be hampered as its prey raised its gauntlets in his defense.

A sword exploded through the daemon's chest, it was connected to the slave, the leader's most despised weapon. The slave reached down to help up his leader but ducked away as the monster's claw seized his young man as it missed the slave in his swiping grasp.

In an instant both slave and leader met eyes and the soldier screamed at the servant in hatred. He was slave, how natural of his kind not to die for their betters.

The monster threw the leader at the wall with the force of a catapult and all that remained of the once proud young man was a splatter on the stone face and a crumpled broken body on the ground.

As the people prevailed in secluded battles the monster roared at the warriors who encircled it. The slave propped himself up, bloodied and bruised from whippings and nearly missed blows and snatched up his leader's blade and shrieked in frenzied rage at the beast charging it with both swords.

The slave had jumped upon the monster, stabbing both blades down into its flesh climbing up on the creature's shoulders. The beast roared in pain as it's tormentor bent itself out of its reach and danced on its body, shoulders and hands. In one flip of his body, the young man brought both of his swords screaming into the beast's eyes toppling the creature and landing upon it.

He swung both blades in a bloody arc upon the dying daemon's face again and again and again.

With his enemy's death groan the slave stabbed both blades into the monster's throat twisting them maliciously.

As the monster died the slave sat upon his knees on its chest as the blood mist lifted from his heart.

Where thousands had died in minutes in the little city, millions were charging up the and into the veins of the city like a rapid venom. He dug out an arrowhead from his shoulder as he screamed at the charging hordes. His fellows were nothing but more shrieking voices in the din of chaos. But he was not, he was most certainly not. He was slave, he would not function quietly like the way he served. He clapped his hands together creating lightning and with the echo of a drum a bubble of static electricity swelled from the heart of the ranks of charging daemons, searing and killing them.

The battle raged for minutes that felt like lifetimes. Every fallen enemy felt like a renewed chance at life with the promise of certain death as the outcome of each blow given and every breath drawn. The slave lost both his blades, one in the chest of a hellhound and another from a parry by a daemon foot soldier. Fighting with his hands he struck blow after blow holding back the daemons on his street. Blast after blast of magic was flung from his hands searing trio after trio of daemons. They held back seeing as they could not overtake the slave who stood between them and his comrades who threatened him with whips and spears should he turn tail and seek to return to their side.

His eyes wandered to the sky which now was a curtain of shadows and smoke. Before his life was to end he wondered what would await his spirit, the soul of a slave, in death.

He stared out at the hordes and welcomed them to battle a final time in defiance as the daemons surged forward and engulfed him and a great flash of light washed over him and everything else over the breast of the city.

-0-

"Lord Death, what do you mean the Veil is swelling?" asked Francesca as she and the rest of the staff of the academy looked at their master confusedly.

"I don't know how to describe it. The Kriegers must be preparing for something big, I can't think of who else would be harnessing energy at the Rift Circle. Aside from daemons but I can feel it's not them" pointed Death with his comically square hands.

"Are they mobilizing to attack us?" asked Sid

"No, Kriegers live to fight daemons and to them we are nothing more than evil spirits and kidnappers. They have no reason to come into our world other than by accident or because I pull one here" explained Lord Death.

"But something is different now?" asked Dr. Stein pushing his glasses back into place.

"Yes, perhaps their war with Hell has taken a sour turn and now they are seeking allies in strange places or an escape. Either way, Stein I want you to go to the Hallowed Forest and keep an eye on the Rift Circle in case we have visitors. You know what to do with them" said Death as he waved his people away.

A feeling in his gut told him change was coming, irreversible and powerful. But what did the Kriegers want?

-0-

"Maka why do I let you talk me into going to these places? I don't know how to deal with it" whined Crona as her brave friend led her through the gnarled trees of the Hallowed Forest. It was a little past midday but the forest was misty and murky giving the impression of sunset.

"I just want to see the Rift Circle. Don't you think that's exciting, Crona? The place where Kriegers are been brought into our world from beyond the Veil" asked Maka, a great smile on her face as she led her shy friend by the hand into the palm of the forest. But truthfully, Maka hoped she could come back to this spot with Lord Death and tame a Krieger of her own. To achieve something that her mother would be proud of.

"We're not supposed to be here Maka. What if we meet a Krieger? Then we'd have to fight it and I really don't want to think about how I'd have to deal with that"

"Don't worry Crona, I'll protect you. Besides there hasn't been a Krieger in our world for a hundred and a half years"

Reaching the most obvious clearing in the convoluted forest Maka and Crona came upon the desolate spot where the Rift Circle lay at rest. The place was a great stone circle that looked as old as death.

"Wow" uttered both girls at the same time as they took it all in.

"There, we've seen it. Can we go now?" asked Crona. She was fairly certain she couldn't handle this anymore, she just wanted to go home and do her homework like a good girl and maybe avoid rousing Ragnarok's bullying for the day.

"Crona" uttered Maka looking at her friend in disappointment.

"No, Maka. Please let's leave I have a really bad feeling about this place and I don't know how to deal with it" pleaded Crona before falling on her bottom as lightning materialized horizontally across the length and breadth of the clearing lingeringly scaring yelps out of both of them.

Both girls looked at the clearing wide eyed and confused. Lightning began to strike again and again as stones began to shift towards the center of the clearing. In the blink of an eye and with the shine of light like that of the sun, an army of daemons and horned humans materialized before them. One side charged the other in a disorganized frenzy of desperate violence.

"I told you!" shouted Crona as she dragged her friend towards the tree-line. "We should have just stayed at school but now we're really going to be in deep trouble!"

Something in the forest blasted torrents of flame through the trees and both girls ducked away from it as they were herded by the sudden confusion of the intense battle.

Leaping through the fires and moving away from the inferno both came upon a group of warriors that surrounded a woman of their species with ebony hair and silver eyes. She glanced at both Meisters and waved away one of her retinue. The one of obeyed was unarmed and unarmored, he wore little more than a ragged skirt and a chained collar.

The horned man looked like a slave, he also looked broken and exhausted. With a scream and a wave of his arm he set the forest behind Crona and Maka aflame and the daemons who were charging them as well.

"Who are they? I'm scared" whimpered Crona before drawing her blade Ragnarok.

Maka's eyes narrowed "Kriegers" she whispered as she shouldered her scythe. She could feel it, she was looking at the true warriors of legend. The ones who prevented daemons from entering the world by allying with Lord Death and fighting them into the other world. But why were there so many? And why were there daemons too?

"B-but Maka, it takes a four or five star Meister to beat one. I think we should run"

"Yeah, but he's tired and there's two of us. C'mon Crona we can do this, I doubt he'd let us go anyway"

The slave sprinted to them both, his eyes looked feverish and terrorized like a hunted creature on the verge of death.

Maka stood her ground and was swiftly blown aside by a wave of invisible force from the slave's hands. The horned man ducked as a spiked chain was thrown from the tree line by a daemon in hiding. Not missing a beat he carved his chain collar across Crona's face splitting her skin by whipping it like a long flail. Screaming in pain and fear for her friend the black blood shot out in spines that pierced the slave's flesh being too close to react quickly enough.

The Scythe Meister looked up at the scene before her as she recovered her bearings from the jarring blow and subsequent impact against a tree.

Three spines pierced the horned slave through the thigh, the stomach and one just barely piercing his neck. The slave's expression was blank and shocked, as the seconds ticked by and the din of battle died out the man's eyes softened to a dreamy expression and a pathetic frown.

Crona retracted her black blood's spines and held her sword out defensively at the slave.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to hurt Maka I will kill you. Just give up and leave us alone"

Tears brimmed on the eyes of the slave and they sharpened with equal parts humiliation and fury. Exhaling a long ragged breath he fell to his knees and prostrated himself before Crona. Maka and her friend looked at the slave in blank shock, neither sure what she should do. After a long moment the slave stood uncertainly and threw the chain from his collar at Crona's feet.

"Crona"

"Y-yeah?"

"I think you are his master now"

"B-but I don't know how to deal with that. I really, really don't want a Krieger. Look at him, he's dirty and scary and he tried to kills us a second ago and he has horns like an ox, I don't want him"

Maka frowned at her nervous and unwilling friend.

"Well too bad. You beat him and now he's yours"


	2. Midterms: I Belong to You Now?

**If you read and don't continue…Fool!**

Dr. Stein breathed drew a long, acrid drag from his cheap cigarette. The Hallowed Forest was little more than charcoal now and the rift circle was little more than shattered stone, that and there were dozens upon dozens of bodies everywhere mangled and torn in every possible way. It piqued his desire to dissect each one and perform an autopsy. His yellow eyes wandered to each body like a probe.

"So this is what a daemon looks like" he thought to himself as he nudged a creature covered in spines soaked in its own gore.

Wandering to the side of a humanoid with small oxen horns he turned the body onto its back.

"And this is a Krieger"

He could see why they were described as intimidating. They had sharp, strong features and the wrinkles on this one seemed to be frown lines. Its skin was a sooty grey and its eyes were hawkish and silver. But the horns, that was the most unsettling thing. Stein couldn't put his finger on it but the horns granted them the right hint of brutality. He didn't know how else to put it.

"! You're not going to believe this" called Sid as he ran back to the rift circle.

There was little that could surprise Stein in his age and considering the array of knowledge and experiences he had had throughout his strange life, so he was understandably skeptical.

Sid had probably just found an artifact or a weapon from the Kriegers.

"What is it Sid?"

"Crona and Maka, they bound a Krieger"

Stein dropped his cigarette from his gaping mouth, which he swiftly shut as he turned to face Sid and the rest of the academy's officers.

"What? They defeated and bound one? There's a ritual of binding involved no? How do they know it?"

"Perhaps I should let them explain. I was never a man to talk about something I didn't understand completely" said Sid stepping back to reveal Crona and Maka followed three steps behind by a ragged Krieger who held the chain to his collar to Crona's back insistently.

Stein's eyes widened unsure of what to make of the situation. They had defeated and bound a Krieger? This didn't match up in his brain, no-no-no this was not right. It took a four or five star Meister to bind a Krieger. How had these two teenagers still in the academy managed to bind one? The doctor adjusted the screw in his head. He took a quick glance at the live Krieger and he seemed to be the same age as Maka and Crona, maybe a little older or younger he couldn't tell. But the Krieger certainly didn't seem like he was as old as his dead comrades. Now it made a little more sense, if he was a youngster then it would fit how they had managed to take him.

"You know, the two of you have a trend of surprising me. But I fear that this time you've surprised my childhood memories. I always thought that Kriegers were nigh invincible and you two managed to catch one. Now I just feel silly not having tried to have my own"

Maka frowned meekly.

"The Krieger belongs to Crona"

"Oh? Well congratulations Crona, you've managed a very rare feat. You'll be the talk of the academy for a very long time"

Crona shut her eyes as to block the mental images of being the popular kid at school. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea of having that much attention from so many people and not having a heart attack. The insistent nudging at her back made her turn around and open her eyes slightly. The Krieger held out his chain at her like a dog offering his leash, Crona whimpered quietly at his frigid scowl.

"I-I'm not leading you around like a pet. You're a person"

The Krieger didn't lower his offered chain nor did his scowl lessen, he stood quietly before his master whom he had frozen to the spot with his gaze like a cobra with its prey.

"Sid" began Stein as he took another long drag while soaking in the interaction between Crona and her new partner.

"Take Maka and Crona to Lord Death, he'll want to be debriefed about what happened here from firsthand account. And the sooner Crona is taught how to deal with her Krieger the better"

Sid nodded and led the two students away followed by the Krieger who insisted on holding out his chain at any of the three so he could be led.

Stein narrowed his eyes at the Krieger as it disappeared into the charred forest, then he gazed at the dead Krieger at his feet. A good scientist makes good observations and has a healthy imagination. Stein considered the variables and drew new conclusions and implied variations rapidly in his mind. It struck him as interesting that all of the dead Kriegers they had found had short horns that could be easily hidden and nearly all of them looked like soldiers. But Crona's Krieger had long, slender horns nearly two feet long and was a slave. Also, it struck him as odd that the Krieger was set on being led by the chain from his collar. No being born free and later enslaved would be that set on being treated like a slave. Had the Krieger been born a in indentured servitude?

He readjusted his screw again imagining what the Kriegers and daemons now being in their world meant for the future.

Pattern suggested that something truly awful was about to happen.

-0-

Crona and Maka walked by Sid's side through the long corridor of guillotines that led to the Death Room where their lord resided. Maka's mind squirmed quietly as she verified everything she had been taught about Kriegers and the slave that now followed them. She frowned in disappointment, she wanted to be a great Meister like her mother but she also longed to have a Krieger someday. Her mother would have been so proud. But now an opportunity that would never come to anyone ever again had sucker punched and passed her. And somehow it had landed on Crona. Gentle, shy Crona who couldn't talk to people because she was terrified of interacting with them. She was thankful for her friend's intervention in battle on her behalf and she loved Crona, truly, but she envied what she had been given so freely and without her even desiring it.

"It's not fair" she thought to herself.

"Hey, is he ok?" asked Sid as he looked back at the two students.

Both girls looked back at the Krieger and he seemed shaken and agitated. His steps were rushed and jittery and his scowl has only sharpened like jagged glass, a frown also had grown on his face that suggested more than a little disgust and contempt.

"Are you ok?" asked Crona looking back at her follower shyly.

The Krieger didn't answer but instead looked past her, not acknowledging the question.

"He probably doesn't speak our language Crona, he's from another world"

"Oh, right" said Crona sheepishly.

They reached the end of the corridor to the small platform amidst an endless desert filled with endless crosses in place of tombstones. Lord Death stood before his mirror and turned as soon as he heard them.

"Here they are sir. Would you like me to leave?" asked Sid who looked like he wanted to know what was about to happen next but knew his boss enough to predict when he'd want a "special alone talk".

"Thank you Sid, I'll see you later. Oh, and before I forget to ask you. You got them back into the city discreetly yeah?" asked Lord Death as he waved his subordinate goodbye.

"Of course, I am always the kind of man to follow orders to the letter sir"

Sid walked off leaving the four alone in the Death Room. When his footsteps became inaudible the only thing the three could hear was Crona's unconscious fidgeting and her dress' sighs as she pulled at the fabric of her sleeves.

"Oh my goodness gracious! So Crona you've caught yourself a Krieger this is an amazing occurrence! I hope you know that you'll be the star of the school for a long time and you'll be chased by hordes of historians who'll want to know how you did it! You've made history! And what an impressive Krieger you have, he certainly looks fierce!"

Death noticed that under the machinegun fire of praise he was giving Crona she seemed to get smaller and smaller as if she was trying to retract herself into her dress and not come out. Perhaps he should put her at ease, she was very shy he knew.

"I think we should have some tea to celebrate and talk about what happened" said Death grandly as he gestured to the small tea table at the side of his platform.

"Thank you" said Maka. Crona worded what her friend had said rather than actually speak but she shuffled to the table.

All three sat but as soon as they did they looked at the Krieger curiously who sat on the opposite edge of the platform and averted his eyes to some imagined detail in the monotonous and naked design of Death's platform.

"Umm, you can sit too" said Crona forcing herself to utter the words.

The Krieger made no indication he understood her but glanced at her as he heard his master speak. Crona shyly patted the ground by the table and nudged a little tea cup parallel to where she had indicated he should sit. The Krieger's scowl deepened and moved closer to the table, but as if held back by an invisible line stopped short of joining them at the table and sat apart from them bowing his head and averting all eye contact.

"Lord Death, I think this Krieger is a slave" said Maka trying to actually get the conversation started. She was dying of curiosity despite her ill mood.

"You are quite right my dear. And this presents a, special, situation for you Crona"

"Why?" asked the student as she looked away from her new companion and at her teacher.

"Because Slaves to the Kriegers are a special breed. There is a history as to why his kind are slaves apart from the rest of the population but he will require no binding ritual to force him to your will"

"But aren't all supposed to be bound?"

"Yes, but when I had my own Krieger she told me that their slaves, despite being unerringly loyal to their people's demands and collective ownership, would serve whomever bested them in combat to the end of their lives. And you dear certainly have achieved that. Not that Kriegers fight over slaves, they are little more than tools to them, not at all people"

"How can Kriegers think like that?" asked Maka, taken aback by this incongruence with her mental image of Kriegers as honorable warriors.

"Because when daemons entered their world his kind where the leading nobility but they failed at their task monumentally because their king at the time betrayed them and so the descendants of that Krieger have been punished ever since"

"But how long ago was that?"

"I lost count of how many centuries, maybe Francesca can tell you exactly. Also, if I am not mistaken you'll have to name him Crona unless you'd prefer to call him Slave"

"He doesn't have a name even?"

"Nope"

"But how can I tell him things if he doesn't even speak English?"

"Oh, I don't know about that" said Death as he glanced back at the slave who continued to kneel, still like a gargoyle. Both girls looked at the slave and Death at intervals as their teacher began to speak in different languages at the Krieger, all of them foreign and bizarre. He switched seven times until when he spoke in one that sounded something akin to German the Slave looked up in attention.

"Ah, so he speaks Tavalkantii, how interesting. He's probably from the heartland of their empire. Now Crona, I want you to do something for me" said Death smiling under his mask.

"Wh-what is it?" asked Crona, unsure.

"I want you to give me your hand" said her lord as he outstretched his hand happily. Crona obliged, a little hesitantly, and held her master's hand quietly.

"I'm going to crush every bone in your hand until you can't use it anymore" said Death quickly as he squeezed her hand.

In the second it took for him to utter the sentence and for Maka and Crona to jump internally at what he said, the slave's hand siezed Death's wrist in a powerful grip. His eyes seemed to shoot knives at the old spirit and his lip curled in a snarl.

"So you can speak English, or at least understand it. Here I was wondering if you'd deign to speak to us" said Death as he released Crona's hand. The slave's eyes softened as he realized he'd been tricked. He returned to his gargoyle serenity and averted his eyes.

"Why don't you tell us your name?"

The slave remained quiet, but smugness quietly slithered onto his expression.

"Crona, he's obligated to answer to you. Why not try asking him?" said Death knowingly.

"Umm, do you mind tell us your name if you have one? If you don't mind of course"

The Krieger said nothing

"No, no, no don't phrase it like a request. You have to give him an order"

Crona swallowed as she tapped his shoulder minutely

"Tell me your name"

"To know another's name is to have power over them. You will have no such advantage over this one spirit. This one has no name"

Crona cringed internally remembering that she had described him as dirty and scary and poignantly stating that she did not want him. It would have been very polite to have been told he could speak English sooner!

"What did you call Crona? Spirit?" asked Maka curiously. She remembered what Ms. Francesca had taught them about Kriegers but she was a little shocked to hear him call her friend a "spirit".

"But I'm not a spirit, I'm a girl, my name is Crona"

"This one will honor The People's law and serve you spirit, but this one will not be so foolish to believe that is your true name. Nor will this one fall for your trickery, you are an evil spirit, little better than the most impish daemon" he answered venomously.

"But I'm not. You can see me right here"

"In the Spirit World this one can only believe in itself. This one knows that this entire world is an illusion and a lie"

Maka stood up and sat by the Krieger. She removed her glove and pressed her hand on his shoulder.

"Doesn't that feel like a real hand? Doesn't it feel warm?"

Very deliberately her hand was slapped away and her words were met with a snarl from the Krieger.

"Do not touch this one filthy spirit. Of course you would choose the guise of a young girl, but this one knows better than to believe in your apparent innocence"

Maka's eyes narrowed at the Krieger in disapproval as he returned her stare with equal hostility. Death sighed as he nudged Maka to take her place by Crona again.

"This part is never easy. You see Kriegers have always thought we are evil spirits, something that is cemented by the fact our world lies on the other end of the Veil and the fact that we occasionally abduct people. Give him time and be patient with him you two and he'll eventually come around" said Death happily as he sipped his tea.

"This is really good peppermint tea" he added as he looked down his cup.

"And if he doesn't?" asked Maka glaring back at the Krieger who continued to glare at her.

"Stop it" called Crona as she moved in between their lines of sight, seeing as Maka was getting progressively angrier and neither was backing down from the acid shooting contest.

"He will. Same way as he'll come to accept the fact that the way he was brought up to view our world is wrong"

Scythe Meister Maka, who had never been really scared of a challenge or anything uncomfortable now scowled down at her tea before downing it in a single gulp.

"Where will he live?"

"By his Meister's side of course, silly goose"

"What?" blurted out Maka, now extremely unenthused about having the ox man in her home.

"Where will we put him? There isn't any room"

"That's not true, we have a spare bedroom to put him in remember? Tsubaki moved out a month ago"

Maka turned her head slowly and loudly "shushed" her friend. She realized it was selfish to start gunning the partnership down but she didn't want that stubborn ass living with them.

"But it's a girls dorm"

"Krieger society is solidly matriarchal. Despite believing you are spirits I'm sure this young man knows how to behave himself in front of young ladies"

"Can I bully him?" asked Ragnarok as he erupted from Crona's back through the black blood that flowed through her body. And not an instant sooner had he appeared was he struck by a now very startled Krieger. He hung limply by Crona's side and muttered "Ever since you became friends with Maka everyone's been hitting me. Including you!" and an instant later he slipped back into Crona to sulk for Death knows how long before he decided it was a punching-safe opportunity to come back out.

"But we don't have time to watch him all day"

"You won't have to, he's going to be enrolled at the academy. He's still young and he certainly needs an education"

"But he doesn't have any clothes, he's half naked"

"Take him shopping this weekend. The academy will give you some cash"

"But what if he follows me around and makes me hold his chain" interjected Crona, now very vividly picturing the Krieger following her everywhere in front of everyone.

"Well its only proper custom for his people and ignoring it would be rude. He certainly looks offended"

Crona glanced slightly at her Krieger and he looked like he was attempting to make her head explode through shooting enough anger through his eyes. She winced and dearly wished she could retract her head into her dress and not come out.

"But-"

"No if ands or buts little missies now go! If I am not mistaken tomorrow you both have midterms and it's late. Off to bed with the two of you"

Both Meisters meekly nodded and walked swiftly out of the Death room, hoping that they could somehow out walk the Krieger and they'd lose him. The Krieger stood and glared at Death for a long while before following after his owner.

Under his mask Death frowned, there was such an ungodly amount of resentment and anger under that young thing's flesh. If he had been born in the world of the academy he'd be an prime candidate to steal souls and become a kind of daemon Death knew all too well.

"Well, hopefully he'll adjust. And hopefully we can track down all of his kind and the daemons that didn't die at the Rift Circle. Hate to see them create mischief with Arachnophobia or Medusa"

-0-

The Krieger slept dreamlessly that night. The war with Hell had gone on so long he was prone to having bouts of nightmares rather than actual dreams, so he was thankful for nights were his only companion was darkness. The two spirits had taken him through their cobblestone city towards their living area by a quaint little park. How clever of them to shape the settings to something peaceful and pleasant, something to make him lower his guard.

They led him to his room, it was a bare thing with a square in the middle. Sitting upon it he found it was fluffy and soft. Oh yes, they were called beds, normal folk had them back in his world though he had never actually slept in one. The blonde spirit warned him to knock before coming into the bathroom, whatever that was, and the spirit who called herself Crona asked him if he was hungry. It took all of his mental willpower not to answer his master. As soon as she shut the door he laid down on the floor, not trusting the bed nor their intentions in granting him one.

Upon waking up he felt every cut and bruise on his body. Achingly he stood up and surveyed the room. It was still bare and still warm, out of his little window he saw that the city was still there and that it was likely late in the afternoon. Being in the spirit world he realized, it shouldn't surprise him with how detailed or real their illusions seemed. This was of course their land. He wondered where his comrades were and sadly reminded himself that the laws of The People applied even when dealing with spirits. He belonged to Crona now, this was his place.

"When will they drop their guise and begin striking this one?" he mused to himself silently.

He rose quietly cracking every joint in his body sorely, he wiggled his bare feet's toes and rubbed his naked chest. He sniffed himself and noticed he stunk of smoke not of body odor, glancing back at his sleeping place he noticed the mess of ash rubbed on the wooden floor. He had tossed around in his sleep. He thought it strange considering he hadn't had any nightmares.

Opening the door and wandering through the apartment he found that neither spirit was there. The Krieger panicked suddenly, every internal alarm firing and his nerves alight with taught fear.

He was apart from his master! This could not be, a slave always had to be by his master's side unless told otherwise, an even then the slave had to return to their master's side if enough time passed.

The Krieger rushed out of the apartment, forgetting even to close the door behind him and sprinting out the door of the dorm remembering that Crona was learning at the castle of the Death spirit. Without stopping and disregarding the similarity to real people the spirits around him had (not to mention their panic at the mere sight of him) he continued to the castle as fast as his legs and tireless endurance would allow.

-0-

Crona sat by Maka as was usual and suppressed the Krieger from her mind and tried to focus on the test in front of her. Maka told her to leave him sleeping in his room and worry about him after the Midterm, it was Friday and they could hide him until Monday. Both girls thought it was a great mercy to have a whole weekend to mentally prepare themselves for having to take him to school the next week.

"Hey stupid, Maka marked down letter C for question five" whispered Ragnarok as he peered slightly out of Crona's back and between students.

"Ragnarok I swear to God if you try to whisper answers to Crona one more time I am going to kick your scrawny little ass. I don't let my students cheat, that's the kind of man I am" said Sid over the whispering of pencils writing rapidly on paper.

Crona felt almost relieved that that was the only thing that had been said directly to her the whole day. No talk about Kriegers or daemons or her, just a little bit about a gigantic fire by the Hallowed Forest. Maybe she could get through the day if she could just finish the exam and hurry back home before something happened.

"Ok, I can handle this, deep breaths. Question 4: A sound soul dwells within a sound _ and a sound _"

Crona smiled in spite of her situation, "That's an easy one: Within a sound body and mind" she repeated as she had heard Francesca teach them.

"Answer: A" she wrote down happily.

As she wrote down the answer and looked at the next the door to the room slammed open making nearly everyone jump out of their skin. The Krieger rushed through and picked her out of the student body in an instant. Some students screamed and others shuffled rapidly away from the horned man.

"You left this one behind!" he said shaking his fist at her and holding the chain to his bulky collar in the other.

Maka and Crona both sunk into their desks and tried to disappear.

"Don't look at this one like that Crona! You are **my **owner and this one is **your** slave. In accordance with the law of the People you can't simply leave this one behind!" he screeched, more than a little upset.

"And you! Harpy! This one could have expected no less than to try confuse my efforts by not speaking the way back into the castle but this one found you!"

Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto Crona and Maka. The Scythe Meister reacted to the embarrassment the best way she knew how; by attacking the situation head on.

"Who are you calling a harpy, ox head?" she shrieked in answer shaking her fist at him harder.

Crona wanted to die, she sank deeper and deeper into her desk and heard Ragnarok laughing a fit in response, "This is priceless!" he howled. She couldn't handle this at all, she didn't know how to deal with the Krieger or how many questions were going to come now. And she certainly knew she couldn't deal with all the attention, from every single person in the academy.

As Maka and the Krieger continued shouting insults at one another Crona asked whatever greater powers there were in the universe what she had done wrong in her past life, forgiveness for what she had done in her current one and if please if it was not too much trouble to kill her now.


	3. Partners: Let's Get This Straight?

**I'm quite pleased with the story, despite the awkward first chapter I am picking up speed and intensity! Let's keep this story train a'rollin. Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts, dear reader, review if you like.**

After the slave's verbal skirmish with Maka, Crona was excused and allowed to finish her midterm at a later date. Both were taken immediately out of the room and sat down in the hallway.

"Now look here, I want both of you to sit down and wait until the rest of the students are finished. I have to have a talk with, um, what's your name?" asked Sid, scratching his head at the Krieger.

"He doesn't have one" whispered Crona, her head hung stiffly down trying to ignore everyone that was about to happen and everyone that could happen.

Sid shot the Krieger a curious look then went back into the classroom. There was very little noise in the academy during midterms, a sort of hallowed silence for blessing those who would do well and blessing those who wouldn't extra hard. Both young adults who sat at the hallway stood out from the warm pastel colors of the academy's halls.

The Krieger looked at Crona and turned his head at her curiously. Was she bothered? Who had bothered her? It probably wouldn't have happened if she had taken him with her, he could have punished whoever did so.

"What is wrong Mistress?" asked the Krieger quietly, his toes curled quietly as he awaited his orders to find whoever had offended his owner.

Crona shut her eyes and wrapped her hands around her shins as she pressed her folded legs to her chest. "Please, just let it all be a bad dream" she whispered to herself.

"That's what this one asked last night. But please Mistress, tell this one, what has upset you so. You seem on the verge of crying"

Crona buried her face in her knees and preemptively pushed her eyes into her dress, knowing she might tear up out of anxiety.

"You did" she said softly

The Krieger shied away from her and seemed to get very small while sitting on the bench.

"This one offended you?"

"You embarrassed me. Now everyone is going to ask me questions and I don't think I can handle that right now or ever"

The slave cringed at the gentle admonishment and curled himself up in a similar pose as his owner. He had humiliated his master with his hasty outburst. Perhaps he should have been quieter, it had only been a day since the last time he had seen his old owners and he had forgotten protocol. Anxiety and panic by cause of being in the Spirit World apart from The People had done this to him. Surely he had to learn quickly as to not upset Crona.

"The quietest masters make for the most vicious discipliners" he reminded himself quietly as he wondered what kind of punishment his master would seek to inflict upon him.

Knowing spirits it had to be something nasty.

The Krieger blinked at the door ahead of him. Quietly he reprimanded himself for his stupidity. Why be nice to them? They weren't people, they were vile creatures that abducted and stole the breath of healthy and beautiful folk while they slept out of jealousy. Crona was the same as them, nothing more and nothing left. She deserved his obedience and protection as was proper, but not his kindness. No, he'd prefer to have a stern and punishing master that he couldn't smile at without being struck across the face for an undue expression of joy rather than this dishonest owner who was not even a living creature.

Anxiety bit into the slave's nerves, Crona was definitely doing something to him. It had been but a single day and already he did not fear her as a slave should his master. And despite being a spirit he certainly didn't hate her. Crafty, crafty creature, of course she had bewitched him somehow. Or she was trying to worm her way into his mind perhaps. He'd have to keep his guard up, no matter what happened.

Crona shut her eyes as to seal them and anticipated the ring of the bell as time passed. The hordes of students were going crowd around her by day's end asking questions and probably misconstruing what had been said and what had happened.

The bell rang

The girl curled herself up as hard as she could in an effort to disappear. Maybe she could manage it but it was going to be difficult to appear inconspicuous with a horned Krieger next to her.

"Holy shit! Look at this freak" she heard down the hall as hundreds of footsteps flooded the halls in an instant.

Oh no, this was directed at her and the Krieger. Oh no! Please, please Gods above let her die now of a heart attack and spare her the agony of public embarrassment!

"Wow look at his horns. What is he?"

"I heard the teachers talking about Kriegers in the Hallowed Forest"

"You are so full of it"

"No! I swear I heard it by the teacher's lounge. They burned down the forest and someone in the academy tamed one. This must be it"

No one was talking to her. Crona felt that either made her extremely lucky or no one knew yet. Peering out of her shell, she saw that the Krieger was standing on the other end of the hall in the most conspicuous spot; far away from her and trying to draw all the attention of the student body.

She could see somebody reach out and touch the Krieger who held his hands solemnly behind his back. It was a surprise he wasn't slapping away the rest of the hands that came to touch him or his curving horns.

"Who tamed him?" asked one of the students

"It was Crona from the Midnight Class, I think the two of them are doing it. He just burst in during the exam and said he was her "slave." He had a collar and a chain, it was so funny!"

One person was all it took for the entire crowd to shift its attention like a massive, obnoxious super organism towards Crona who now really wanted to die.

"He's your "slave" Crona? Wow I didn't peg you for that kind of girl, I guess you have a freaky wild side don't you?" started Antony, a graduated Meister who was a teaching assistant and a completely antagonistic, incorrigible, irreverent, unbelievable and unavoidable dick.

Crona buried her face in her dress again wishing for Maka or Tsubaki or Kidd or even Black Star to come save her. To give her a backpack and a fast way out of Death City and the location of a nice place out in the wilderness where she could build a little hut and live there without the Krieger following her or anyone asking her any difficult or embarrassing questions.

"You hear me? Now you're just hurting my feelings, don't ignore me" started Antony as he parted the crowd and neared Crona.

"Please go away, please go away, please go away" she pleaded insistently with her thoughts as she felt a panic attack coming on.

"Hey, what gives? Get out of my way"

Crona looked up and saw the Krieger had simply appeared, thin and ragged as he was in front of the opposing Meister who was well groomed, well dressed and well built and was impeding his way.

"If you take another step towards my master I will kill you, spirit" began the Krieger, his expression blank and his body steady.

Someone in the crowd "Oooed" the challenge and some of the students began to call for a fight.

"Do you even know who I am? Do you even know who you're dealing with?" said Antony looking back at the crowd for support.

"Now, are you going to move or do I have to make you?" asked Antony bringing his face a centimeter from the Kriegers who stood immobile like a monolith.

"Antony that's enough! You do nothing but cause trouble, get out of here! I don't care where but just not here!" yelled Sid as he appeared between the crowd and the pair.

Antony shot the Krieger another venomous stare and whispered "It's your lucky day" and walked away leisurely making sure the ox man would understand he wasn't intimidated and would take as long as he liked leaving the situation.

Maka and Tsubaki both appeared from their room seeing as their private conversation to bring the latter up to date had caused them both to miss something and both went to Crona's side who looked less distressed but captivated by the Krieger standing up for her. The scene almost looked like a standoff between two warriors, the smaller of which was protecting another.

"Bitch isn't worth my time anyway" said Antony loudly, challenging Sid and looking to piss off Crona's friends whom he had seen come out of the room.

Before Maka or Tsubaki could say anything, which Antony knew would happen, he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. It was the Krieger, of course! Now he had an excuse to kick his scrawny little ass. But what did surprised him was the surprising amount of force that whipped him around to face the Krieger. The slave looked furious as he reared his head back and brought it forth with a tremendous headbutt that split the cartilage in Antony's nose to the left and mashed the wound into his nasal cavity.

The Meister felt his legs go limp as he fell backwards from the blow. As the landing knocked the air out of him and heard gasps from the crowd behind him, he formulated his counter attack despite the exquisite pain in every little detail of every little nerve that was on fire. He was going to roll backwards and stand in one fluid movement, and then channel his inner energy in an attack. It was perfect, the bastard was going to get it now and he'd make sure the Krieger didn't just get to walk away.

He felt an iron grip clasp his genitals as the Krieger grabbed him between his legs and crushed what he had in hand. Antony cried out in very real agony and his entire body froze, unable to move from fear of provoking more or the lightning sensation of tremendous pain. The second scream to emerge from his throat was cut short as he coughed up a generous splatter of blood from the red liquid leaking from his nose into his mouth.

The Krieger neared his face, which was dripping with Antony's coughed blood, with a snarl and said clearly, "You have offended my Mistress. In accordance with the laws of The People, I am going to rip out your tongue" he said as he yanked his one hand and produced a loud scream from his opponent. In a flash the horned man's hand was in his mouth, grasping. The Meister moaned in panic as he felt the Krieger's nails dig into his tongue's flesh and begin to pull.

"Stop it!" screamed Crona who not a second later wrapped her arms around the Krieger's chest and pulled him backwards lifting his slender form away from the older Meister. No sooner had she done this she felt his rubber hard muscles relax and his ferocious expression shift to one of sheepish confusion.

No one spoke for a moment as Antony coughed profusely and crawled to his feet wobbly and bent over whining pathetic insults. Not so much at the Krieger but exclaiming "He almost ripped my fucking tongue out".

Still within kicking range the Krieger wound his leg back and struck Antony onto his face producing a new admonishment from Crona to stop and a new bout of screaming and insults from Antony who now half ran away as he got to his feet. The young Meister didn't dare release her Krieger as she held him, she was thankful he was at least semi-obedient. Crona realized that if he had wanted to kill Antony, he could and there was little she could have done to prevent it.

The Krieger raised his hand at the crowd and jutted his index finger at them menacingly.

"And let that be a lesson to you spirits. Anyone who humiliates, insults or harms my master will be punished" he sang in an almost sweet voice. And as to drive the point home he closed his open palm slowly, cracking every joint in it.

"Antony, get yourself to the infirmary" said Sid, dearly wishing he could drop his professional demeanor and laugh in the arrogant bastard's face and yell "You brought this on yourself!".

"The rest of you get to your classes. Crona and…Krieger come with me" he said as he waved the students away who remained obediently quiet but began to whisper furiously as the crowds parted.

As the Krieger walked a few steps ahead to join Sid he looked back at Crona and her friends with an expression as if all was right as rain. He waited for Crona to follow patiently. His master looked at the slave with a dumbstruck expression.

"Thank you for standing up for me. But you can't do that"

"Do what?"

"Hurt people like that I mean"

"Why?"

"Because it's not good"

"Why?"

"Because its violence leads only to suffering"

"But he offended you"

"That's just how Antony is. That doesn't give you the right to break his nose and try to rip out his tongue!"

"But Mistress, this one had every right to. The laws of The People are clear in this"

"So you were just acting on my behalf because you have to?"

"Of course Mistress. This one would seek to end Mistress' life if he was not bound to her, such is the right way to treat all spirits such as yourself"

"I am not a spirit and neither is Antony! We are real people just like you"

The Krieger's innocent expression didn't change nor did his tone but his words carried the murderous anger he wanted to convey.

"This one respectfully disagrees. No matter what lies Mistress speaks this one will never believe she is a person"

"But how can you think like that? I almost cried because Antony was picking on me and I'm afraid of dealing with people. Antony screamed and yelled and cried like a living person would because you hurt him!" half shouted Crona, half surprised by the loudness of her voice.

The Krieger didn't bat an eyelash nor make a single human expression. With the most polite tone and the gentlest voice he said "You will never be a person to this one. You might speak like one, breathe and act like one but under Mistress' skin lies a beast, a monster. And this one will never forget that".

Ragnarok burst from Crona's back and grasped her head roughly.

"Wow, you know I think I was wrong about that freak I could learn a thing or two from him, hahaha!"

Crona hung her head quietly and followed Sid followed three steps behind by the Krieger who now seemed like a person very far away from the visible young man who had called Maka a harpy an hour ago or had curled up nervously because his mistress was displeased with him.

As the trio left only Tsubaki and Maka stood in the hall, the former more shocked and hurt by what the Krieger had said than the latter who was just furious.

"I swear I am going to kill him" said Maka as she tightened her fists around an imaginary scythe.

"How can he say something like that to Crona?" asked Tsubaki, looking at the spot where the horned man had stood moments ago.

"Idiot thinks we are all spirits. He calls this the Spirit World, thing is after Lord Death pulled some Kriegers here to fight Hell long ago they all got the impression that's all we are as if we did something to hurt them"

-0-

In a small camp miles away from the charred Hallowed Forest stood two women, one sizing up the other. One peered out of a black hood with snake eyes on its sides, the other gazed at the other like an insect with her icy silver eyes. One had tattoos of serpents on her arms, the other had beautiful patterns inked daily into hers. One had a braid down her chest, the other had decorated horns.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Queen. My name is Medusa and I have no love for the great Death Spirit. I think you and I can benefit from each other's assistance.

The horned woman smiled cruelly.

"The People seek to make this world their own home. And you would help us achieve this?"

"Absolutely, I want the Death Spirit gone"

"Why?"

"He is and inconvenient thing to have around"

"And what guarantees do we have that you will not betray us?"

"What guarantee do I have you and your people won't betray me?"

Both women smiled knowingly at one another.

"I think you and I will have future affairs to discuss" said the horned woman as she led the hooded lady to a regal tent.

-0-

Sid's talk had been a long but one sided thing. The teacher explained to the Krieger what the academy's rules were and what his obligations were now that they had enrolled him to begin learning about their history and world on Monday.

He couldn't strike other students for offending Crona, but he could challenge them to a duel.

He could request classes with Crona to be by her but if they were full or if she requested he stay away from her he had to abide.

He could keep his traditional clothing if he should so choose but he needed to wear shoes and a shirt too.

He could keep the collar too but he couldn't ask Crona to lead him by the chain.

He was allowed to have whatever feelings he wished about the spirits and their world but he was not allowed to say hurtful things to anyone, especially not dehumanizing remarks.

During the entire listing the Krieger seemed to shrink as his restrictions were made clear. He did not dispute any of them but whenever he would seem to want to object he looked at Crona who stared determinedly at her lap and refused to look at him. She had a hurt expression that scraped at the Krieger's self confidence and taught lessons.

After finishing Sid sent them both off again and Crona went back to her classroom and gathered her few notebooks and pencils into her backpack and rushed past the Krieger who followed her anxiously, like a child dreading to come back to an angry home.

Crona looked fixatedly at the cobblestones ahead of her as she followed her route home trying as best she could to ignore the stares and comments from passersby. She half expected the slave to take offense at something and try to rip someone's tongue out again, but thankfully he just quietly followed her home.

-0-

"So you're telling me you let your nephew go into a battle with the academy and he's been captured?" asked Medusa as she sipped her tea relaxedly.

The Queen sat across from her at ease but in a state of perpetual mental and physical battle readiness.

"No. I sent him to die or to be captured, he is a Slave and thus expendable. However because he was given mercy someone at this academy now owns him as a slave of their own. If we should ever choose to attack the academy he would certainly have information about the city"

"So you sent him in as a spy?"

"In a manner of speaking. Though he will obey his new master he is ultimately loyal to me and The People. He will turn on them if I so much as suggest it"

Medusa laughed in spite of the cold eyes of the Krieger Queen, she and the monarch could easily be friends if she was that ruthless and devious.

"Do you have any idea who owns your nephew now?"

"A young woman with pink hair and blue eyes"

Medusa's eyes opened slowly and a smile followed suit.

"Was she wearing a black dress?"

"Yes, she was. After he wounded her, her blood turned to spines. It was a curious thing, her blood was black as well"

The Witch began to laugh in full. What a wonderful thing how serendipity works!

"Your nephew's new owner is my daughter who I planted there for the same reasons"

Oh yes, they had a pair of aces in the hole, something they could draw in the case of a rainy day. Which if things went well, they wouldn't need. But Death was crafty. One never knows.

-0-

Crona sat quietly at the table in her and Maka's apartment as her roommate cooked dinner. Tsubaki sat by Crona and read aloud the lecture for Monday concerning Soul Resonance and how Meister's increase their Soul Wavelength to deadly effect.

The Krieger stood by a corner, nervously twisting his fingers. He felt a great deal of fear because of Crona's disapproval. He would eagerly welcome his punishment no matter how painful. But being let off the hook is something that had never happened before. He deserved to be struck, that was the way he was supposed to be treated; like an object, like garbage. But Mistress told him he was a person and insisted in regarding him like one. However misguided her ways were he felt a deep shame for having caused her embarrassment, distressing her by punishing Antony so severely and lastly for hurting her feelings.

Why wouldn't she just beat him into a bloody pulp and threaten to kill him if he ever made another misstep again?

Maka set her plate down and served Tsubaki and Crona their dinners. The Krieger salivated, it was a rice and fowl flesh that were aromatic in a way that reminded him of the incense laden houses of his homeland.

He twisted the hem of his skirt and bit his lip. The least Mistress could to do teach him a lesson was not feed him dinner.

The Krieger focused on his feet as he recalled the events of the earlier afternoon with clarity. He wanted to remember every little detail so he could understand how he had offended Crona in every possible way of understanding. He paid no attention when he heard a chair move back and footsteps by where the stove was (a bizarre contraption that heated without the use of fire). Or the clinking of a plate and the chink of a spoon striking it.

"Hey"

The sound of his master's voice made him look up.

Crona had set a plate for him across from her at the table and was standing by his chair holding it out for him.

"You must be hungry after everything that's happened. I realize you must not have had anything to eat in a while. I don't know how I could deal with that, Ragnarok used to not let me eat sometimes" started Crona as she mustered a tiny smile trying to diffuse the tension from earlier that day.

She felt a little guilty she had ignored the Krieger, that wasn't nice. And she of all people knew how ignoring someone was a painful thing to do to them. She was taken aback however when the Krieger pushed himself against the wall and tears rolled down his face.

"But, this one offended you. Why hasn't Mistress punished him? Why is she serving him food and a place at the table like an equal? Why are you treating this one like a person Crona?" he gasped on the edge of what seemed to be a sudden panic attack.

Tsubaki and Maka both stood from their places, moved by his first and very real burst of emotion since he had arrived. Although it was barely a day ago it seemed like years through the demeanor of the alien Krieger.

"Krieger, please calm down! I didn't mean to upset you" said Crona waving her hands exasperatedly. Oh no she had made him cry! But what had she done? She was just being nice to him.

"No, no, no you cannot treat this one like a person! He doesn't deserve it, he was born Slave. It is through this one's sins that his people lost their world to Hell. This one deserves to be punished always, he must suffer for all the suffering he caused The People!" cried the Krieger as he pushed himself away from Crona who was reaching to touch his hands like Maka had when they had first met.

"Mistress has to punish this one! He offended her, twice! Caused her embarrassment and insulted her. Please!" he pleaded as he bent his knees to be lower than her.

"I'm not going to hurt you! You don't deserve it! Your people hurt you for something you didn't do. I know what that feels like and trust me, it might seem like it is all your fault but its not!" protested Crona as she followed the Krieger who continued to avoid her like he would pass a contagion to her through her well meaning.

The slave stopped by the stove and stood his ground in stubborn resolution.

"If Mistress won't punish this one for his impudence then he will do it himself" he said as he pressed both of his hands onto the red orange stove's heating plates. A loud hiss filled the room as the three girls suddenly jumped and jerked the Krieger away from the stove.

"Are you crazy!" screamed Maka as she wrestled the Krieger's left arm away as his bloody, raw hand reached for the stove that was now out of his reach. The slave managed to jerk his way closer as he reached for the burning heat of the stove but screamed in pain as Maka slapped his hand as hard as she could and at the same time tripped him into the ground.

He protested and sought to stand up again but a very startled Tsubaki and Maka firmly held him down.

"I order you to stop it!" shouted Crona as she pressed him down by the chest.

The Krieger went limp instantly and obediently.

Everyone breathed deeply as the small scuffle ended as quickly as it had begun. Crona shyly grasped the Krieger's head with her hands and shifted his head to look at her directly.

"Ok, let's get some things straight. If you are going to be my Krieger you are going to have to stop hurting yourself or asking me or anyone else to hurt you when you do something wrong. Second, you are going to stop calling me Mistress, I'm not your owner-"

"But you are-"

"Shush! I am **not **your owner and you are **not** my slave. You are nobody's slave"

"But, this one does not have the right to be free"

"Then this one is giving it- I mean, I am giving it to you. And thirdly, I am not going to call you Krieger or slave. First thing tomorrow when we go buy you clothes we are also going to name you. And you'll get to pick"

"But-"

"Shush! And you can't pick a substitute for servant or slave, like thrall or majordomo"

The Krieger looked like he wanted to say something more but instead weakly tried to hit his head into the floor but stopped short because of his arching horns.

"Now, if we let you get up are you going to try to hurt yourself?"

"No, Mis- eh, Crona"

All three got off him and Crona snapped off the stove and they tentatively took their places. Over the edge of the small table all they could see were the last curves of the Krieger's horns behind his head. Tsubaki produced some medical gauze she carried handily and gave it to him. The three watched him as he gingerly wrapped his hands in it then set the roll back on the table when he finished.

A gauzed hand reached tentatively over the edge of the table and grasped a plate of food by the only empty chair.

"And fourthly you are eating at the table like the rest of us"

The Krieger made a sound like a whining child for a quick instant then sheepishly sat at the table like he was doing something incredibly risky and for which he could be permanently punished for. The three girls looked at him for a while longer as his hands bled a little because of his twisting the lap of his skirt anxiously.

"You know, in some ways he's more anxious than you were when you came here Crona" said Tsubaki as she looked at the Krieger like a natural phenomenon unfolding before her eyes.

"Yeah, but where Crona is scared of people he's afraid of being treated like, Death forbid, a person" said Maka gruffly as she scrutinized the Krieger who sat to her right.

"It seems like a stupid thing to me" she added as she began to eat her dinner.

"It does not to this one" whispered the Krieger as he looked up at her meekly.

Three pairs of eyes were on him once again as his morbidity became palpable in his aura.

"Let's talk tomorrow, you can tell me everything that's happened to you and I'll tell you about me. You can tell me what you like and what you don't and I'll tell you what I like and don't. What do you say? Do you want to be friends?" said Crona smiling her modest smile which was earnest and offering him her hand as Maka had done to her nearly a year ago.

"If you feel really upset why not write a poem? I'll help you write it if you don't know how, its a good way to let your feelings out"

The Krieger's eyes began to weep and he extended his own hand to grasp hers.

"This one has never had a friend before. This one doesn't know how to deal with it" he said pathetically.

Tsubaki smiled happily and Maka chuckled in spite of herself. History repeated itself. Ragnarok made another appearance and shook his fist at the Krieger and said "Maybe this idiot granted you your freedom but I am part of her and I haven't. So I own you now and you aren't going to-" but before he could finish Crona slapped him and he retreated back into her body rather than get into a hair pulling match which would result in Crona pinching him, Maka hitting him, Tsubaki yelling at him and the Krieger probably ripping his tongue out. He squatted silently inside Crona, sulking.

"I can't bully anyone anymore, I need a new hobby"

As the four ate their dinner and the Krieger took modest and shy little bites of his delicious meal with the silence and poise of a statue with runny eyes. He admonished himself in the most private nook of his mind.

"It has yet to be two days and this one has already fallen prey to the designs of the spirits. Their lies and world have broken this one"

He couldn't comprehend them, he had been taught to resist pain both physical and mental. He had been deprived of every kindness and consideration; he'd been whipped for smiling at his owners or pretending to have the right to own a pet or a small bauble. He could not comprehend how they had known that by showing him kindness they could break him so utterly. He was not even aware, in retrospect, that he was even vulnerable that way or that it happened so quickly without his knowledge. Now he was here, sitting with his master-er, partner? Partner-Commander! Whom he would leap to obey with any order. No, no, no. This was improper, he was not a person, he could never be a person and Crona could never be anything else but his master and owner, she could never be his friend. He was vile and wicked and monstrous and every failing of his entire race was on his shoulders, it was the burden he and the others like him had to bear.

But it was so easy just to entertain the notion of giving in to the spirits. He didn't want to admit it but the world around him did not hint in any way of what he had expected. It was to all of his senses and his heart a real world. Maka's hand had felt like that of a young girl and the blood from Antony's wounds smelled the way the Krieger's own blood did. And harming Crona's feelings distressed him more than anything else he had ever felt before in his life. It was a greater anxiety and realer to him than being whipped ten times, or being punished with his damaging collar, or being deprived of food for a week. Though he was used to it, he hadn't eaten anything in three days until now.

The People say that the Spirit World is where every crooked and mischievous spirit resides. But he couldn't fathom how he was supposed to combat them, all he knew to do was kill. And instead of killing him like he meant for them to do when he had attacked Crona and Maka instead they took him in and had the design in mind to make a partner out of him. And they **insisted** on treating him like a person.

The Krieger sulked bitterly as he ate his food with an artificial smile on his face, that fought very hard to become a real one. He knew he was done for, he had the sacred duty to resist and to remain loyal and pure to The People. But he had already slipped off the edge of the knife by admitting weakness and by allowing the spirits to make the demands they had of him. To have made him agree to take the steps into personhood and out of his burden and he not having done what a real member of The People should have done: commit suicide. What more, he didn't want to die.

The slave looked at Crona who smiled lightly at him with her blue eyes, those damnably powerful blue eyes. He knew that by sunrise his fall into damnation was sealed and he would be too far gone to help it. He was too weak to resist.


	4. Daemonhunter: Crona's New Fear?

**I hope you enjoy the chapter. Nothing like brooding tension in someone's life to take the edge off!**

The very next day, the Krieger woke before anyone else, he had had nightmares of every shape and color. Images and sounds from the biggest battles fought in the end years of his world. Images of him and the other slaves charging dozens upon dozens of yards ahead of the several hundred thousand warriors of The People behind him and the vast hordes of Hell before them all with no real expectation of survival.

The sky darkened above him and the wafting flames of the horde ahead reeked of ash and terror and the promise of a swift death.

The screams of the wounded and dying, and his own screaming.

The blood, the pain, the anger and the terror.

The slave bowed his head quietly as he begged for the easing of all of the spirits of his people into the afterlife. Gods above knew they deserved it.

He curled his bandaged hands carefully as he kneeled on his spot on the floor where he had slept. Discouragement rested on his mind as he noticed he felt just like he had felt his entire life: like a slave, despite the intensity of the previous day. Not only that but spirits or not, could his new masters betray him? Or use him as The People had? It was his burden, but it would have been cruel considering they had given him hopes and promises of kindness. A raw guilt scraped his conscience as he remembered how kind they had been to him. H should at least give them the benefit of the doubt he resolved.

He rose unsteadily and shook off the grip of last night's ungentle sleep.

The Krieger, feeling much like what he had lived as for years, began to explore his new home. Finding where everything went and how everything was arranged he proceeded to clean (which was very little as Crona and Maka cleaned the house every week to avoid buildup) and began to cook breakfast for his owner and her companion.

He was somewhat familiar with the contraptions in the house, both fridge and stove, having watched Maka do the cooking the night before. And he was familiar with the foodstuffs in the house which were not at all too foreign for him to not recognize what they were.

As he scrambled eggs and sausages in a small pan he remembered how much he hated cooking for his masters. Especially the Queen. But cooking was nice enough, he liked to cook. But they would always strike him if he took too long.

He hated a lot of things

-0-

Maka and Crona woke at the same time to the smell of breakfast. Both appeared from their respective rooms with their pajamas on and both looked at the exact same thing at the exact same time; the Krieger's back.

It was artfully crisscrossed with thin scars from whips and blades. There was very little flesh that looked its age on his back.

"Good morning…Crona" said the Krieger consciously using her name.

"And Maka"

Both girls returned the greeting somewhat unenthusiastically both staring at his back and trying very hard not to imagine what the acts that gave him those scars must have looked like.

The Krieger sped up in his cooking out of habit and expecting an attack if his cooking was not delivered immediately to its recipients. But swallowing hard and deciding to test them he slowed down and a little more time cooking and preparing the food.

"What are you making us?" asked Maka who cradled her head on her hands and looked at the Krieger feeling much more sympathetic towards him.

"This one thought he should return your kindness by cleaning your home and cooking a proper breakfast. Though this one doesn't have any of the typical ingredients from his world"

"And you cooked often?"

"Yes, this one's old masters would whip him if he didn't and if he didn't do it fast"

"Seems like they hit you for pretty much anything"

"They did"

"You don't seem too shaken up about it"

"When you are in constant pain, it's not as troublesome. And this one never really warranted one of the more artful punishments"

"Such as? Actually, forget I asked"

"As you wish" finished the Krieger as he gathered three plates and served each of them their meals. Both girls thanked him, although Crona was not hugely responsive, he felt she was not a morning person. He sat and ate his meal in silence watching every move, gesture or sign the girls gave for hints of deceit or danger.

To his skepticism he found none but eventually relaxed as the girls began to chat more as they woke up and inhaled the modest meal he had made for them.

After thanking him for the meal (a gesture for which he was overly gracious for) they led him out and to the shopping mall to buy him clothes. Getting there and going to many stores (and in every one of which all the customers gave them looks) they quickly realized that if it was not a button dress shirt they couldn't really properly put a shirt on the Krieger due to his horns. Moving on to pants he constantly gravitated to skirts as was the way of dress for his people. But they couldn't find anything that would fit him and not look distinctly girlish. Moving on to footwear he disdained laced shoes and preferred to walk barefoot.

Eventually they left the mall without having made a single purchase. On the way back however the Krieger spied a store for fabrics and there he ended up buying an old threading contraption that was there more for show than anything else and a substantial amount of red, lead black and orange thread. Along with that he also bought leather soles and patches of cheap leather. Neither girl questioned him as they helped lug his buys back to their home where he proceeded to begin weaving clothing with speed and a practiced hand.

"So you can cook and weave clothing. What else can you do?"

"This one can read and write, fight too, and this one learned a bit about building as well"

Maka frowned at the awkward answer, usually the answer to a question like hers would be something like hobbies or sports, not possessing the ability to read and write.

"So have you thought of a name?" asked Crona as a smile came to her face. She was kind of excited to be helping the Krieger, or just someone really, as Maka had helped her.

The Krieger looked out the window suddenly, hesitant to say he had not and hadn't really chosen a name. He quickly thought of a title that existed in his world, it was "Cerjoh". It meant caretaker, servant, guardian. I was given to those who were not of the same blood as a family but nonetheless were in a sense part of it due to their willing bond of loyalty, friendship and love.

In the last years of the war with Hell it was a rare title. Everyone looked out for their own, it was difficult enough to follow the demands of the Queen without bleeding more for others.

"Cerjoh"

"You mean Sergio?"

"Yes" he said, "It sounds the same" he thought. "Hopefully it's not the word for a disease or a foul word on this world"

"That's a nice name. Ser-gio" said Crona, "It suits you"

"Thank you, Ser-gi-o" he answered, rolling the word in his tongue.

"So, Sergio, tell me about yourself" asked Crona I her modest voice following the steps that Maka had taken with her after they had met.

The Krieger smiled earnestly, he liked the name, having one of his own was nice. But it did not feel like a permanent thing, more like a temporary and unserious thing like a child's game.

"This one does not have a story to tell. He was born Slave and has served until The People came to the Spirit World and Crona took him"

"I meant: What are the details of your life?" asked Crona. Although she had to admit, until she had come to the academy it had been little more than pain throughout her entire life. There was nothing really to say.

"This one was handed to many owners as a child. He was instructed by them on his duties and the laws of the People. But because he has magic he was given to the Daemon Hunters for training as is proper"

Crona and Maka both looked at him, impressed and now curious both began to ask. Sergio did little more than rapidly weave the threads and crisscross the patches into distinctive patterns of his people.

"Daemon Hunters? What are they?" asked Maka as she imagined the Krieger's fellows striking down the beasts that had assailed them little more than a day ago. Although it had been a brief skirmish it had been brutal and horrifying to witness.

"In my world lies Hell, and in it lie daemons. The Daemon Hunters slay them. We are very skilled at this"

"So it's like us as Meisters and the Kishin?"

Sergio looked up at her curiously.

"Meisters are people who are trained at the academy by Death to hunt other people who are trying to become Kishin which are this world's daemons"

The Krieger smiled savagely as he looked up from his work which was taking shape quickly.

"Do Crona and Maka slay daemons then?"

"Yes"

"Then we are kin-in-arms. This one is proud of this"

Maka smiled lightly as did Crona, immediately the events of the previous year came to her mind where she had been instrumental in the attempt of awakening the daemon under the academy. Her mother, Medusa, was a witch to wished the daemon revived and had made Crona into a freakish weapon combining a daemonic weapon, Ragnarok, into her blood as a child. She was well on her way to becoming one of the daemons that both the academy and Sergio hunted. But the attempt had failed and her mother had been slain in the subsequent collapse of the Kishin's shrine with her cohorts, but Maka spared her and befriended her instead and Death allowed her to come into the academy to study and become and ally Meister. She had never been more happy in her life. But she had also never been more ashamed because after having worked to become a Kishin from her own free will at the behest of her mother she now bore the very real guilt of trying to make up for all the suffering she had caused.

But she felt a crude anxiety at the thought of Sergio becoming aware that she was in a way part daemon, so she chose ignore that part of her history, should he ask.

"May this one ask about Crona? Where did she come from?"

Maka quieted and looked at Crona, she had likely thought about the same thing concerning her past and chose to not say anything.

"I was a slave too, believe it or not"

At this the Krieger looked at her open mouthed and confused.

"But, how? You are not responsible for the failings of The People how can Crona be a Slave? And how did she get her collar off?"

The trio exchanged looks of confusion.

"Sergio, I think we are losing something in translation. Slaves to us are people who have had their freedom taken away from them and are used for labor. Crona, didn't Death say slaves to them are people who are being punished for their king's actions?"

"Slaves in this world are **made**? That is abominable!" started the Krieger before looking down at his work once again digesting the difficult information.

"But then what about you? Aren't you mad you were a slave?" asked Crona

"No, it just this one deserves-" Sergio held his comment back as he reached back in his mind for a way to explain that this was the way it had to be, it was all and those like him deserved. He continued to weave, trying very hard to ignore the considerations that had been given to him. "It's just, in the moment The People and Hell went to war with one another, The Great Betrayer, our King, consorted with the daemons and risked the defeat of our entire race. For this, his descendants have been punished, and I am one of them"

"How long ago did this happen, Sergio?"

"Seven hundred years ago"

"What? But that's not fair to you"

"It was not too long ago, it has only been four generations"

"Just four? How long do you guys live?"

"A hundred and fifty to two hundred years. Why?"

Crona and Maka went on to explain the briefness of human life to Sergio's confusion. Then about the difference between slaves in their world and the world of the Kriegers, Sergio very readily told them the list of laws that applied to him. He could never marry, he could never claim ownership of anything, he could not be befriended by anyone, he could not be shown kindness but any that was would reflect well on the piety of anyone of The People who deigned to do it. He had to mate with another Slave when he reached the age of twenty, sixty and one hundred and eighty to continue the bloodline. He was to serve The People as if they were all his owners but he was the special property of the Queen's family as the Slaves had been divided between many hundreds of families as reparations for direct harm caused by the King's betrayal. He could never marry nor bond with a spiritual mate nor could he ever have any contact with his children.

At every point Crona asked him why, or what was the point and to every question Sergio answered flatly and casually. He did point out happily that although he was of age to breed for the first time he had been spared because of the war's end. He mused that perhaps the Queen had considered that his people would be wiped out and their burden ended. A mercy, he said it was.

"You said something about a collar, can't you take yours off?" asked Crona as she reached to touch the bulky thing. Sergio flinched, he was never touched by the collar without it being to jerk him by it or to use a "wand" on him.

"This one cannot, this collar is enchanted and will kill me if this one does. And no one in The People would ever willingly or unwillingly remove it" he said as he finished weaving the first fold of his new skirt.

"It can kill you?"

The Krieger nodded solemnly as he continued to weave rapidly from the spool of the old machine.

Crona kneeled down by him and touched the collar lightly. The Krieger continued his work but eyed her nervously. Inspecting the back of his collar she found its clamps, which were simple but ornate. The mechanism was indented into the dense metal of his collar as to avoid being unclasped by accident. The half-daemon wanted to unclasp the collar and remove the dreadful thing off his neck, he was a good person she could tell. It had been so difficult to take off her own collar to Medusa in her mind and heart but he had a very real sign of bondage on his body. Taking it off might help him, if he did it, it would hurt him he said, but as she saw it she could remove it safely.

Reaching into the little indentation behind his collar she curved her finger around the clasp. No sooner did she do so did the Krieger turn and grip her wrist in his hand.

"What are you doing?" he said bristling.

Crona's expression became sheepish and shy, "I-I just thought I should take off the collar"

"Why?"

"Because it's kind of dreadful and I just thought it would be a good idea to take it off you. You don't need to wear it anymore, you are free"

Sergio suppressed a snarl and eased his grip. "This one will never be free. Also, this collar is his physical commitment to The People, he would never allow it to be removed" he said patiently.

"Sergio, it's not your fault. What happened with the king wasn't your fault, you should be free. You don't need to wear a slave collar to want to help your people"

The Krieger looked at her, peeved he continued to weave. "Crona doesn't understand" he mumbled quietly forgetting his manners again and resenting his name's meaning. How could he be tied to people willingly who didn't understand the burden he carried and why he had to carry it.

"If he wants to wear his collar let him. If he doesn't break the chains in his heart and his mind it doesn't matter if you take it off him or tell him he's free" started Maka as she focused on the patterns he wove for his clothing.

Crona frowned, she wanted to help but she was right. It had taken her a long time to break the chains Medusa had wrapped around her, she wasn't even sure if she was really free. What would she do if Medusa came back? Though she was dead of course, she could be grateful for that much.

-0-

The weekend went on at an uneventful pace, the two girls studied and the Krieger did little more than finish his weaving. By Sunday night he had made himself a pair of boots, a set of pants and a skirt to go over them and a wrap for his torso and sleeves to the same like a kimono. The contrasts of lead and red looked good as did the overlapping patterns. Maka commented that he could make a fair amount of money if he sold his makings, to which the Krieger modestly replied that his weaving was not good enough and he didn't have the right to sell anything he made and it was free for anyone to take from him. Kidd and his two partners came to visit them later during the day, the younger of the two overwhelmed the suddenly shy Krieger with attention and questions regarding his horns. By the end of the afternoon she had tied several ribbons to them and had forced him to play rapid game of patty cake, a game for which he did not have the minimum amount of coordination for.

Kidd was impressed with the Krieger he had heard so much about, he recognized the calluses on his hands and the way he moved as one who knew how to fight. He also inquired to the Krieger about his magical abilities, to which Sergio replied humbly, he was good enough nothing more.

"Hmm interesting, and you can channel your own energy to create a series of physical effects? You must have a powerful soul"

"A strong gift rather and the heart to control it. This one would never draw on witchcraft however, dealings with daemons are forbidden and they are my mortal enemies"

"Witches don't really deal with daemons in our world. Witchcraft is an art and an innate gift like your magic"

"This one understands, but what is the fixation of you spirits-I mean people with souls?"

"One's soul is what generates one's power. I am unsure of how you see it in your world but I can see a hint of your spirit and I can assure you it's what releases your power"

"So you say it is not something I have but rather it is in my very spirit?"

"Precisely, it's not like being born with blonde hair or a mole but rather it's an inseparable part of your essence"

As Kidd finished explaining Sergio seemed to drop his head sulkily.

"Magic is what marks this one as a Slave"

"What?"

"Don't get him started, I'll explain later" said Maka as she stretched herself on her chair. "I'm tired of being cooped up, let's go for a walk". The group agreed and set out to the quiet forests by the city. Upon reaching them they found Sid guarding the paths into the reserves.

"What's wrong Sid? Why are academy agents with you?"

The teacher shook his head worriedly.

"A band of daemons set up shop in the park. They got by our sweep somehow and ended up here, they've been holding hostages for the past half hour since they appeared"

Sergio seemed to straighten and look past the teacher into the forest. He could see the far glow of fires not a long way into the reserve. His gentle demeanor transformed into a predatory gaze as he walked a little past his fellows.

"We've tried to approach them but they hold their hostages to their swords every time we get close. It looks like they are carving something into the earth"

"A summoning circle" started the Krieger as he sprinted into the forest with a speed he had never shown before.

Despite admonishments to stay back by the agents and Sid he passed them effortlessly and continued into the darkness.

"He's going to get the hostages killed! All agents hold your positions and take out-" started Sid into his ear piece before Crona interrupted him.

"No, please wait Mr. Sid. He's a Daemon Hunter, let us go in after him, I'm sure he knows what he's doing"

The teacher looked around for an instant

"Go on. Kidd, make sure nothing happens to them or the hostages"

"Of course, these daemons are going to pay for this" he threatened as he and his two partners drew their weapons and followed in after their comrade.

-0-

An impish daemon finished his carving and chattered wildly at his stronger and bulkier kin. At this the strongest of the lot reached down and clasped one of the battered and stripped hostages and dragged her kicking and screaming towards the circle.

It smiled through black gums and silvery fangs as the woman shrieked clearly sensing her end. But the smile died on his lips as he saw before anyone else a bolt of lightning race towards the imp and the subsequent explosion of gore and steaming blood as he heard a chilling declaration erupt from the forest.

"Tol'gazarath!" screamed a dressed Krieger slave as it burst from one of the paths and halted its sprint towards them.

The fiend barked and order and the dozen remaining daemons held their blades above their heads over the hostages.

More humans joined behind the Krieger and stopped short with clear expressions of shock in their faces as they saw the daemon and his kin clearly.

The Slave held up a hand and closed it into a fist as he brought it slamming down in one fluid movement towards the ground. Following the motion a clear pull through the air dragged the hostages and the woman he had in hand ripping from their positions to between him and the other humans who quickly moved in front of the frightened cattle.

The Krieger surged forward and slapped a spear away as it was thrown at him then clasped it and snapped it in two as he continued his mad charge.

The daemon leader swallowed hard as it ululated for his kin to slay the Krieger.

The monsters surrounded the Krieger swiftly and struck at empty air as the slave dodged and parried with his two batons. In a flurry of blows he would strike solitary and deafeningly loud blows to the knees or faces of the daemons. With a swerve he stabbed his spear head into the neck of one of the daemons and snatched the creature's blade with his spare hand then carved it across another's chest.

One by one in the fluid choreography of battle the daemons fell under a brutal blow from the Krieger or slew one another by his martial misdirection of their blades. Upon losing both his weapons he fought with his bandaged fists. The daemons began to lose even more ground in moral as he countered their swings as they were being made with his limbs upon their weapons' edges.

Twisting and striking he slew daemon after daemon, the stink of ozone and lightning began to permeate from his body as he channeled lethal electricity through his blows until only the last beast stood, towering over him with an expression of dread.

He held his enormous maul over his goring horns in defense as he howled a challenge in a language that hurt the ears of those present save the Krieger who simply walked over to the pile of battle trophies they had acquired and took a rectangular blade that clearly matched Krieger design and a similar mace with a cruel blade at its top.

The Krieger charged the daemon gleefully and the monster brought the maul down upon him with as much strength as it could muster. His challenger blocked the blow by crossing his weapons and swerving to his right, bringing both weapons slicing by his shin. The daemon bent a knee and kicked out at his opponent whom he struck aside clearly and onto his back which rapidly turned to his feet as the Krieger regained his footing with ease.

Charging again the daemon summoned an incantation and blew fire from his mouth in a waterfall of flames which engulfed the Krieger's form before being blown back and dispelled by a visible sonic boom emanating from the slave.

Not an instant later the Krieger was upon him again. One blow separated his hand from his wrist and another knocked aside the maul. The third blow disemboweled the daemon as it retreated, crawling on its back and away from its executioner.

The group of humans looked at the Krieger with awe as it raised its weapon above its head for the final blow.

Smiling and coughing up blood the daemon bellowed a word of power and he was obliterated as the runes on the ground absorbed his blood and in an explosion of fire which threw back the Krieger into the group of bystanders a greater daemon appeared.

Now the Krieger and the others stepped back fearfully as the fiery monster stood and screamed with a voice like a roaring fire. It stepped out of its summoning circle as its immolating body encased in pieces of black metal flamed wildly, it heaved upon its shoulders an axe that could slay dragons in a single blow and smiled through its burning maw at the little mortals before it.

The hostages ran, screaming for their lives and only Maka, Kidd, Crona and Sergio stood their ground.

"Tol'gazarath!" screamed the Krieger at it as he stabbed his weapons into the soft ground and snapped his arms aside as they lit up with current and lightning emanating from the core of his body.

"This one will end you before you cause anymore destruction, abomination!" growled Sergio under his breath.

His eyes widened as the monster moved with a speed that was terrifying to the senses considering its bulk and mass. Within his heart he hesitated as he saw the blade come for his head faster than he could react.

He was finally going to die. The Krieger felt fear bloom anew in his heart, he didn't want to die, he wanted to live.

In the blink of an eye where he expected his life to end he saw Crona's black blade block the beast's blow with a force that was physically impossible considering her thin frame and thin arms. He saw a mouth open on the blade of her sword and scream harder than he had ever heard anything exert its voice and the daemon stumbled back in agony as it grasped at its head.

"Screech Alpha" said Crona clearly as with a swing of her blade a violet, black slice of energy engulfed the daemon and flung it backwards into its back.

The Krieger's spirit swelled. His master had protected him! She had not only spared his life and been kind to him to boot but she had actually risked her own to protect his! This could not be! He had to increase his devotion a hundred fold for his master! She was too kind, absolutely too kind!

With a scream he unleashed a torrent of lightning from his renewed spirits into the beast and it bellowed in pain as it rose unsteadily to its feet. Flinching backwards from a barrage of blows of energy from six banging metallic contraptions Kidd and his two partners had produced in each hand the daemon withered under the abuse before roaring back and renewing the fire from its body. In doing so it didn't notice the Scythe Meister sprint past him and gouge her weapon deep into its ankle bringing it to its knees in pain.

The daemon brought his weapon forward to block a blow from Crona's screaming blade only to drop its weapon from the bone shaking vibrations from her own weapon. Rolling with her momentum she stabbed the blade deep into the monster's gut causing it to scream anew towards the heavens.

How dare these mortals! He would rip them apart!

As the beast cleared its eyes it saw the Krieger bearing down on his face from an impossible jump. The daemons intensified the flames from his body to the temperature of a smith's forge making all his opponents fall back under the flame's punishing influence and he swatted the Krieger down.

Bringing his axe across like a half moon of hellish metal he cut across the Krieger's chest and the thin flesh thereof.

The Krieger fell to his knees for an instant before he channeled energy into his sword and charged forward. The daemon saw the whitish blue energy from his rectangular blade and desperately swung at the slave who only pressed in past his defense. Failing to protect itself the daemon brought his hand to his chest where the Krieger's blade stabbed and pushed into in an attempt to reach its heart.

The fiery monster screamed in agony as it brought his free hand in to crush the desperate Krieger but that hand too was disabled as the same mortal with the black sword appeared back to back with the Krieger and impaled the other hand in an effort to protect him. She used the momentum from the monster's swing to push her own body onto the Krieger's and help him push his own blade into the other hand. The monster screeched fearfully as he drew his hand away only to have it maimed by her sword whose straight edge had morphed into hooks and teeth within his flesh. Upon drawing the hand away the mortal with the scythe sprinted in and stood to protect her partner from his mangled claw. The mortal with the black sword in turn yelled "Screech Gamma" and a blinding series of strikes raked and flensed charcoal flesh from his hand until the bare flaming bones were left drenched in fiery blood. The Krieger's blade pushed in was stuck in the bone but was freed as the mortal with the black sword stabbed her own weapon into the wound and the white sword found its way into the monster's chest.

The beast reared back to roar but its bellow was cut short as in a visceral and fiery blast of white energy ripped through its form. Everything within its body was blasted out of its back.

Toppling back the daemon fell dead, its fires dying out with its spirit.

Climbing up on its chest with the momentum of its fall he pushed his blade into its chest to the hilt.

Maka breathed heavily and noticed she was shaking, "I can't believe we killed it". She turned around to look at Crona and Sergio and the dead monstrosity that was a daemon from the Krieger's world. Suddenly she could keenly understand Sergio's world, these were their adversaries for the past seven hundred years. She shrunk at the thought of having to fight those monsters every day of her life as he had.

The Krieger drew out his blade and chopped it again and again with yelps of pain and agony into the monster's chest. His strikes intensified and he began to scream as he continued to strike the monster after its embers had died out.

"This one hates you, hates you, hates you, hates you, hates you!" screeched the Krieger as he continued to mutilate the dead body.

"You do not deserve to exist! You must not exist! This one will slay every last one of your kind! The People will wipe this world clean of your filth until only your bones remain and your young all lie hanging from the trees in pieces!" screamed the slave as he continued his promises of war and death upon his slain adversary.

All those present felt afraid to approach their ally, his frenzied attacks and declarations were disturbing. Crona realized her charge was neither a hunter nor a slave, he was a zealot. She realized she was not looking at anger, she was looking at real hatred.

The Krieger crawled off the monster, sheathing his weapons into the folds of his clothing, then clutched at his running wound as his hands shook from anger.

He approached his comrades with an angry snarl, not at them but at the creatures.

"C'mon Sergio, let's get that wound looked at" said Kidd trying very hard to ignore his outburst.

The Krieger nodded as he stumbled quietly from pain as the adrenaline wore off.

Crona brought her free arm around his shoulders and wrapped her arm across his waist to help him walk. She noticed he had a very dreamy look on his face as he beamed at her; there was a degree of adoring gratitude in him.

"This one will kill every single one of these beasts alongside the academy. Their influence will be expunged before it festers, this one swear it. As will the influence of these "Kishin", thieves of souls, those abominations will also be destroyed as will anyone who strives to become one" he said weakly but smiling widely at her.

Crona smiled back weakly.

She shivered fearfully as did Ragnarok who quietly sat inside her, hoping dearly the Krieger wouldn't ask how he came to be inside her.


	5. A Global Chessboard: An Invisible War?

**Enjoy!**

Monday morning all three went to the academy after Sergio insisted on preparing breakfast. He was elated and happy and his companions were moody and down for the same reason: the daemons. The Krieger was overjoyed about having brought, as he called it, glorious battle to the vile creatures. Maka was moody because her mind had wandered throughout the night, considering if the daemons could do to her world what they had done to Sergio's. And Crona was sulking because her hesitant friend hated daemons and seemed to be willing to harbor the same ardent hatred towards the Kishin and "those who strive to become like them". She hoped he would never find out, she didn't want to fight him. He was a good guy, she knew. And she didn't know how to deal with the idea of having to fight him seriously. He had proven last night how powerful and dangerous he was and fearless to boot. She had only drawn on similar courage because she couldn't deal with the thought of him dying. Maka and Kidd neither. Oh, things were making her so nervous now!

Walking quietly to school with a beaming slave who followed her trying very hard to cheer her up, he seemed to have assumed she was just unsettled by the daemons of yesterday.

"Don't fret Crona. You did very well last night in battle. Surely this one would have perished if Crona hadn't saved his life" stated the Krieger proudly and smiling a broad smile at his owner.

"Don't mention it, it was nothing"

"But it was! Crona risked her life to save this one's. Sergio will not forget that, no-no-no" he beamed in response. The Krieger made a squeaking sound as he gushed in a very uncharacteristic way as he thought clearly about how Crona had saved his life.

"Mistress- Uh, Crona! Was so brave!"

Crona blushed at his attention. She didn't know how to deal with him at all. First he was kind of moody and kind of a jerk and then he'd cry and hurt himself because he hurt her feelings. Then he was moody again and now he acted like an ecstatic friend. She considered perhaps that the past three days along with the rest of the week was going to be how long she had to take in order to get a full first impression of the Krieger.

Sergio smiled at his blushing master with a song in his heart. He had little doubts now, the daemon they had faced was real and the "spirit" had risked her life to save his own. He didn't know how to deal with his new friend. The Krieger felt he had to do something grand to thank her. Imagine! She had saved his life! His **life**! At risk to her own!

At the very least he should craft her a statue.

He frowned

He would gladly do so if he had the money or knew how.

But a grand thank you was in order, he had to find out what he could do to make her happy. Surely this was not a difficult thing to do, Crona hadn't kept secrets from him and had been more than kind to him. Yes, but better a surprise on his part to sweeten the surprise. Yes this would do! He should ask Maka and Tsubaki about her today and figure out a timely gift.

"What are you thinking about?" skeptically asked Maka who looked at the Krieger with suspicion. He was so transparent in his expressions, he was clearly contemplating something.

The slave jumped like he'd been caught doing something wrong then stepped back at pace with Maka and shepherded her twenty feet behind Crona who walked ahead, still wrapped in her thoughts, and without noticing she was walking alone.

"What are you doing? You are acting really suspicious" whispered Maka, drawn into Sergio's conspiratorial tone without realizing it.

"This one wants to gift Crona something for saving his life yesterday. And this one would like to know what Crona likes so as to know what best offering to give her"

"Oh, no Sergio I don't think that's a good idea. Crona doesn't like surprises"

"Well, this one doesn't mean to frighten her. But rather give her a gift without her expecting one"

"Oh, well…Umm, I don't really know what she likes either" said Maka meekly, realizing that Crona's private way of being made them strangers in some facets of their friendship.

"Then we can find out together" answered the Krieger resolutely.

"Uh, wait, what are you guys doing back there?" as she realized she was walking alone with the two conspirators in tow.

"Nothing!" both said in unison.

Crona dismissed her apprehensions quietly in place of her thoughts over what she could do to make Sergio feel more welcome. She had no idea what he liked but made up her mind that a little present might put him at ease, maybe something that would remind him of the positive things about his home.

Or maybe just a set of sheets for his bed, was he still sleeping on the floor?

-0-

Francesca had heard about the Kriegers entering their world and salivated at the chance to interview one. She had buried her nose in her books regarding their history, customs and languages as a refresher over the weekend and on Monday she resolved to ask Death for permission to seek them out on a self imposed hiatus.

She walked into her room to begin the day's specialized lecture about Krieger customs regarding courtship and marriage. It was always a topic that made her blush, Krieger men seemed to be so, forceful. The young teacher entered the room and made a quick scan at her bare desk and set her things down, she was over half an hour late.

"Happy Monday class, I hope you had a restful weekend. Today we are starting a special chapter on Krieger courtship, marriage and family rearing. Very interesting of course" she started as she wrote down the words she had learned over her years of study. The words for love, family and children, they were pleasant to the ear. She noticed that someone had drawn across her blackboard a mural of drawings in the Krieger style. Depictions of daemons and armies, and cities and light and victory.

Someone had paid attention during last month's class.

She then heard a formal greeting in Tavalkantii, the language of the heartland of the Krieger's mighty empire. It was a boy's voice which had said it, she didn't know any kids in her class who knew the language that weren't in her 401 class.

Francesca turned around and scanned the crowd of students, sitting between Crona and Maka was a Krieger, smiling at her politely and attentively following her writing.

For a brief instant of silence the room was quiet before Francesca squealed like an overexcited fan girl, scaring the hell out of her students and making the Krieger jump in his seat.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my GOD!" she screeched as she grabbed the hem of her skirt.

"Did this one do something wrong?" whispered Sergio worriedly Crona.

"Ms. Francesca is really interested in Kriegers. I suppose we should have told you she is kind of-"

"Obsessive" interjected Maka as she giggled at her normally professional teacher's outburst.

After Francesca was done squealing she drew a deep breath and collected herself, she noticed how the Krieger was cringing away from her and how Maka was giggling and how Crona had buried her face in her arms.

"I apologize for that outburst, its just- I'm a HUGE, fan of your people. How does the greeting go? Ba'karabas?"

The Krieger returned the gesture of greeting and said "Ba'kerabas"

"Oh, of course! How could I forget! Um, my name is Francesca Everheart. And you-um, oh dear you are a Slave, you don't have a name"

"This one does, it is Sergio. Crona asked me to choose for myself"

"Crona asked you? So she's your friend? Maka is he yours?" asked Francesca in a flurry of questions.

Maka half frowned remembering she had lost her chance at a Krieger a mere seventy two hours ago and pointed sourly to Crona who looked up at her teacher.

"You're CRONA'S!" stated Francesca in shock. She had no idea where this transfer student had come from and she always struck her as delicate, how had she managed to tame a Krieger?

"Well, I hope you understand how lucky you are to have him! Not everyone gets to have one and you just got one out of the blue. Oh, ever since I was a little girl I've always wanted one"

"Ms. Francesca he's not a thing. He's a person" said Crona looking slightly annoyed.

"But I know that of course! Kriegers are so handsome and strong, I've always wanted my own but I will never get to be a five star Krieger and merit one. It takes a, special and strong, kind of woman to handle taming one" said Francesca forgetting where she was or who she was talking to.

"Oh I hope you are ready. Taming one is a long and arduous process of course. It takes a long time to secure their trust and love. Of course how could one expect anything else? They are ripped from their own world into our own against their will and are enslaved by us who they view as spirits to serve them. Oh, but what a romantic idea! So many Meisters have loved their Kriegers and been swept up in romance with their horned lovers-"

Francesca opened her eyes from her gushing monologue and looked around the room. All of her students looked uncomfortable, some were snickering others had their faces buried in their palms. The Krieger at least looked confused, he looked Crona over like he was trying to picture himself and her "swept up in romance". And Crona looked like she was picturing it and was blushing wildly.

"This one could never love. He does not have the right"

"That makes it even more romantic! You poor boy, you just need a stronger woman to open your heart!" squealed Francesca in her mind but maintained the little dignity she had left.

"That is very unfortunate you are a Slave. Most Kriegers of opposite sex to their Meisters end up having long relationships with them. You'd know it as Spirit Bonding"

The Krieger was taken aback by the statement then it was his turn to blush away from Crona, his master.

How very inappropriate!

"What is Soul Bonding?" asked one of the students now keenly interested in the subject.

"It's the Krieger way of marriage, but it's a set above marriage as we know it. Its like their version of soul mates, of course" explained Francesca who looked at the Krieger for validation, only to see Sergio bury his face in his arms and shy away from Crona.

He struck her as being a very modest Krieger, not very grim nor serious. But he was handsome, just like the rest of his beautiful kin. It was such a treat to see one in the flesh finally.

Francesca straightened up and began her lecture, focusing solely on the embarrassed Krieger.

"Hey Sergio, are you ok? I'm sorry she reacted that way, I didn't mean for you to be embarrassed on your first day" whispered Crona to her partner as he sat with his hand over his face.

"Think nothing of it Crona"

"But why are you so red buddy?" asked Maka impishly looking at the Krieger's expression.

"Because Soul Bonding is a very intimate thing, and for Scholar Francesca to suggest that this one would carry this out with Crona is…a little embarrassing"

Crona chuckled meekly for the sake of making light of the comment and sighed "Yeah, silly isn't it".

"Yes, very silly. This is something that could never be"

At this both friends noticed that Crona frowned lightly. She seemed to withdraw into her mind as the expression carried itself out.

Sure, it wasn't news. She wasn't any good at talking to girls or boys, except Maka and the gang. But she knew they could only be her friends, no one was going to clamor for her attention or affection. Being apart from Medusa she began to consider what she was going to make of her life at the long term. A house would be nice, but she wasn't picky she could live in an apartment! She had to have her friends nearby, that was a must. But living alone with Ragnarok was going to be so hard! What if he picked on her? She had gotten better at handling him but she didn't want him to be sulky either. Maybe if she could have a boyfriend it would be better? A husband would be great though, someone who would tell her he loved her every day and would cook her dinner and be nice to her. It would be so nice not to be alone at night too, cuddling with someone in a nice fluffy bed.

She had never really cuddled but she was sure it was nice.

Crona was aware though that most of this was likely to never happen. She was very plain and she was shy. No matter how hard she would try to force herself to talk to other people it was very difficult, and boys would sort of treat her like a girl but not really. Was it because of her voice and how flat she was? She wondered meekly and poignantly if this was the case. She wore a dress like girls did, did she look androgynous or something? No, she was just ugly.

"But this one did not mean to offend you! Crona is very beautiful!" blurted out the Krieger in anxiety.

His master didn't seem to notice the consolation and instead opened her book to the appropriate chapter in Krieger history.

Very demoralized and brusquely consoled in turn by Maka who was enjoying his anxiety he stared off into space wracking his brain for a way to cheer up his master.

She really was very lovely he thought. Did no one else see how beautiful his master really was?

-0-

Medusa had brought the Kriegers in their many hundreds to her hidden fortress in a labyrinthine wilderness. The Queen had been polite and accommodating and was willing to hand over her Slaves for study, though not for experimentation. Her warriors were in process of constructing a small settlement in the mouth of her home and were going about their lives while setting up small farms and smithies. While it was little more than a skeleton settlement they worked with a diligence she had never seen in her life. These Kriegers were the perfect, obedient servants.

The Queen worried her for a few instants, as was natural for Medusa she began to machinate how best to draw out the maximum advantage of the relationship but quickly thought against it. The Krieger's vivid and hawkish eyes met hers for an instant and she realized it was a misstep to bring the Kriegers to her fortress without a leash around their necks, a guarantee. The Queen knew she was considering the same thing she was however civil things were at the moment.

Perhaps it was best if she played nice while the Queen was still semi-dependent on her for information and security in this new world.

"I've seen into your Slaves, they have very strong souls" began Medusa quietly as she sipped her tea. The Queen looked at her impassively across the little table.

"Yes, but they are completely obedient"

"How did you manage that?"

"It was not something of my making. My grandmother was the one who brought about this punishment for the descendants of the king at the time"

"Smart woman. Did she get any Slaves out of the deal?"

"The strongest of course"

"Interesting, and this was because he was consorting with daemons?"

"Yes"

"Because from what you've told me it seems to me that your grandmother engineered this"

The Queen's eyes speared the witch silently.

"The timing for everything seems too perfect. The king's children were in the care of another noble family for the duration of the siege of the castle and they just so happened to be captured. And then the castle fell under his leadership which it sounds to me like it was sound up until they were caught. Call me silly, but I sense a ransom story here" said Medusa jovially.

A smug grimace cut across the Queen's face, Medusa was a little unsettled to discover that her inner sanctum could suddenly turn frigid and that silence actually had a sound.

"And the name of that noble family who was watching the rug rats was the Davalkanti. What did you say your name was?"

The Queen stood silently and walked away from the witch towards the halls that would lead her outside.

"The king was weak, he did not deserve his rule. If he had sacrificed his children then he would have proved his strength, in giving in he damned us"

Medusa smiled. "Enslaving the family of your political opponents then using the leftovers as weapons. I wonder how her servants would react if they suspected?" she thought silently.

The witch's elated mood dropped despite being pleased with herself for figuring out the Queen and the plans she was about to set into motion. Slaves and the rest of the Kriegers were different biologically. Only Slaves really possessed the ability to perform such things as Soul Resonance, or as they called it "magic" (what a crude term). How was the Queen an aunt to the Krieger she had loosed upon the academy with her dearest Crona?

Another smile

"I sense another story"

The witch looked to her side at the crystal ball set on the table.

"Erika"

"Yes Lady Medusa?" answered an anxious voice within the misty contents of the crystal ball.

"I'm going to go contact my little girl. Hold things down while I'm gone wont you?"

"Y-yes ma'm"

Medusa needed a hit on someone special from the academy. Someone who could ease the troubles with the daemons and possibly help tip the conflict with Arachnophobia in favor of the academy. No, this wouldn't do, she needed to give the daemons enough time to fester and provide Arachnophobia with a challenge. No, no one could have an advantage yet. She wasn't ready to checkmate, not even close.

-0-

Lord Death stood quietly before his mirror, within his vast mind he smoothly grasped at smoke as he pictured the asymmetrical chessboard of the world. He could see his pawns and knights clearly. They were everywhere but he felt they were spread out thinly. Or perhaps even weaker for their being used to peace. Though that was the way things should always be: peaceful.

He tried very hard to see what Arachnophobia was up to. He knew that they would seek to make an ally out of the Kishin, the avatar of madness and chaos.

Death smiled, the Kishin had developed such a silly title.

Though, the monster was not his only concern, nor was Arachnophobia. The daemons from Hell took to the four winds in the world and he felt with dead certainty that they would seek to open rift circles into their world and bring their armies here to do the same they had done to the Kriegers. But he was thankful that the Veil had turned into a dense wall since after the Krieger incursion into their world. There was no activity on the other side that he could sense.

Death had read the report about Crona and Sergio against the daemon by the park downtown and he was very impressed. From what Kidd had said they worked very well in tandem with one another, Crona more so as the Krieger was solely focused on killing. He was also told about how the Krieger accepted the Daemon-swordsman as his Meister and was no longer as convinced about the so called "Spirit World".

"If the relationship between those two grows they could be our trump cards against both the daemons and Arachnophobia. But, what about the Kriegers? Under the leadership of their queen they can't possibly become a benign force in the world"

But luckily he had a specialist he could call on: the last Krieger to come into the world and survive the calamities of that last awful century.


	6. Picking Sides: The Chains that Bind Us?

**I like creative reviews, especially questions. Wanna take a stab at things? Shoot me a question, I wont give spoilers but I might nod you.**

Dr. Franken Stein lounged quietly in one end of his "special" room. The same room where he'd brought Maka when she was having problems with her partner, another Meister named Soul. As far as he knew they still weren't talking. But it was a fair idea to bring the Krieger and Crona into the scented candle room to have them perform some trust exercises.

He made a mental note to requisition more of the special candles. Scented ones that exacerbate emotion weren't very cheap. Stein suspected that they weren't so much herbal as a product of witchcraft.

Crona fell backwards nearly all the way to the floor but Sergio caught her as he'd been told to do in increments. Always let her fall just a little farther.

The girl rubbed her face as she and the Krieger switched places, she hadn't minded his horns as she should have last time she had caught him.

Stein looked at both souls as they repeated their exercises, ignoring Sergio's yelps or squeaks as he continued to expect to fall even though Crona caught him every time.

His lack of trust in general was obvious but who could blame him. He was a slave and was told since he was a child that he was expendable. Crona, Medusas' daughter, had come out of that feeling only recently thanks to Maka and company. She happily let herself fall with her eyes closed never once doubting that she'd be caught by her partner.

Crona's soul was constant at the moment, when he had first seen it, it had been concealed by Ragnarok's but now he could get a good look at it. When she had come into the academy it was constantly in flux, skittering in her chest and trying to hide from others but eventually it came out. Now, with the Krieger by her side her spirit was more grounded. He thought that it was the nature of the slave's relationship with her that gave her spirit strength and calm.

It was enough to give anyone confidence really, having someone's unconditional trust and devotion as she had very easily earned from the Krieger.

Though he had to admit inside both Crona and Sergio there was anger.

In Crona it was based around the abuse done to her and fear of losing what little she had. He could see a yearning for happiness and life that she had been denied and was slowly coming to realize she could maybe have.

Of course she had a long way to go, Stein guessed that the most she hoped for was to be invited to study parties with her friends.

In the Krieger however there was a murderous rage that Stein could feel very clearly. But his soul was obscured; Stein knew this was because it was likely in a transitional state. For the past week he had been afforded a little vacation out of the realities of slavery and he could afford to be someone else: himself.

But it was clear he hated The People, he hated them with an irreconcilable passion that he funneled into his loathing of daemons.

Stein wondered if he was even aware that all the fire inside him was directed at them. Likely not, it was all probably buried in his subconscious. In Krieger culture he could never strike out against them but of course he could at daemons. It seemed like the right theory.

"Ok students. Now I want you both to tell each other what you don't like about one another. This is important for the exercise"

The Meister and her Krieger looked at one another silently, neither quite sure what to say and both fearful about offending the other.

Crona could feel her heart thundering away and her brain squirming. She was so excited and she didn't know why. In her head she went over what she didn't like about the Krieger, all of which revolved around his self-view as a slave and not a person.

Especially that collar

"Um, this one doesn't like how Crona is so sad at times" began Sergio fingering his skirt thoughtfully.

"It's very unsettling because then this one doesn't know how to help"

"I'm sad because you keep wearing that collar. You are not a slave anymore and you shouldn't wear it" she said, peeved.

"But this one can't! It's what marks him as one of The People"

"The People don't care about you! They sent you to die when we fought for the first time"

Stein closed his eyes and listened to the pair impartially. This was typical in his scented room: lack of filter and uninhibited feelings.

Crona glared at Sergio before recoiling seeing as her partner sob for an instant, the picture of candle powered misery.

"Ah! I didn't mean that I was ju-"

"No, Crona is right. The People don't care about this one" said the Krieger quietly as he turned his head down looking at his skirt as he chocked a sob in his throat before it came.

"This one just wants someone to love him. He doesn't want to be alone anymore" he whispered through gritted teeth as if he was trying to shred the message before it came out of his mouth. "This one just wants to be your partner, to hunt daemons together. This one wants to ignore his duty and live with Crona".

Stein suppressed a smile as Crona started to cry too, she reached out and grabbed the Krieger gently through little sobs of her own.

"I care. I'm your friend you, don't have to be alone anymore" cried Crona as she hugged the Krieger. An embrace he returned warmly.

"For the love of God could you two stop crying, you make me want to puke" protested Ragnarok as he erupted from Crona's back scolding the pair with tears in his own eyes.

"This one can be Ragnarok's friend too. He'll buy Ragnarok candies, Maka mentioned you liked them"

The little daemon reached for Sergio's closest horn and embraced it. "You really aren't such a stupid oxman after all. You know I just pick on you and Crona because I actually like you guys, I don't really care if you are both losers".

Stein took a long drag from his cigarette and recorded the scene in his head detail for detail. This was by far the funniest session he had ever had in the scented room.

Beyond that, the three were going to be fine, he felt.

-0-

Rather than embarrassment after the fact both Meister and Krieger walked out of the scented room with puffy eyes and wide smiles. Both felt more secure each other and things seemed a little rosier. Crona understood how much he wanted someone to be her friend and maybe even surrogate family and he understood, or rather had reinforced that Crona was genuinely meant him well.

He smiled even more broadly; he had made his first friend! And what a fine friend she was.

The rest of the day had gone by quietly as both went back to Francesca's class where she delivered her entire lecture constantly checking with the Krieger for validation. She asked him if he wouldn't mind giving a presentation for next Monday regarding the festivals of Kriger society. He said he'd been happy to.

After class Tsubaki formally introduced herself to Sergio as well as her partner Black Star with whom the Krieger was at first very impressed with then caught on to his ego and simply humored the loud mouthed Meister. Kidd and his two partners joined the little troupe and took them to a small café he loved to frequent downtown. The establishment was called Check and it was chess themed.

"I wonder why Kidd likes this place. Everything is all symmetrical and even" wondered Black Star aloud with a wide grin on his face, obviously pleased with his brilliance.

The group killed the rest of the day chatting about class and homework. No talk about daemons or Kriegers or fighting, the Kishins or Arachnophobia.

Sergio thought it strange that none of them spoke of the daemons they had killed days ago. But then again there was plenty he thought was strange so he avoided the topic.

Feeling restless he got up and walked around the block while his friends continued to sip coffee and complete their homework.

After his first round around the sidewalk he disappeared for two hours, noticing this the group set out to find him. Following his route they turned the corner and found him sitting at the playground amidst a horde of children who followed his movements like pack dogs as he play-roared and chased them. The parents on the benches looked somewhere between concerned and wondering if they should tell him to go away or they would call the police. He didn't seem to notice their anxiety; but his warm smile and obvious like for the children put them at an awkward ease.

"Honey is that a Krieger?"

"Yeah, a Meister caught one the other day"

"Umm are they good with kids?"

"He looks young and he's playing with Valery nice enough. Wicked horns on him though"

Sergio chased the giggling, shrieking children in circles around the playground. Finally winded he sat down in the sandbox where the kids started to get cautiously closer to quickly touch him then back out of his reach. Some of the more rambunctious kids ran behind him and tapped his horns. He caught them and dragged them kicking and crying in front of him. These same older children (all of them boys missing their front milk teeth) ran away crying in serious terror of their near death experience. With the younger children he offered his hand politely and some touched, others stayed at bay. It was only the older girls who sat by him curiously and touched his clothing and his arms then his horns.

Seeing it was safe to touch the monster man more came to inspect the stranger.

Crona and the group watched this with earnest fascination. Not because they thought the scene was cute, though it was. But because it was such a radical stretch from the shrieking, smoldering zealot from the park to this harmless, lanky teddy bear in the playground surrounded by children like he had been surrounded by daemons which he proceeded to gut with gusto.

"So we can add: works well with kids. To the list of things he can do, right between reading and writing" said Maka as she felt the want to approach the group and play too.

Eventually she did as did Crona and Black Star. They played hide and seek. All of them confined their hiding ranges to the playground. Sergio's horns often gave him away, Maka and Crona hid as a pair and cheered the kids when they were found. Black Star, determined to outdo them all, hid somewhere for an hour before everyone broke up the games.

No one found him in the nearby clock tower of a church.

"Ha! Of course I am the best at hide and seek!"

-0-

The rest of the day faded quietly and by late afternoon Sergio had made several friends in Kindergarten all the way to the second grade. He was very pleased with himself.

Maka stayed with Kidd and Tsubaki to wrap up homework, all three were surprised that Crona had finished hers so diligently and so quickly.

So moving on ahead of the group Sergio and Crona decided to go home.

In the half light of the sunset Death city almost seemed to be on fire.

"So you've been washing yourself with a washcloth in the sink?"

"Yes"

"There is a shower you know"

"A what?"

Crona sighed smiling, she kept forgetting he didn't know much about technology. She cut through the alley she usually did to get to their dorm.

"I'll teach you to use it when we get home" she said as he continued to beam, he was probably thinking of the kids.

She was, happy. Things were going well, she was getting good grades and since Sergio's intervention no one really dared to give her looks or bother her anymore. Especially Antony who seethed quietly at the pair but always averted his eyes when the Krieger looked. The swordswoman suspected it was because the slave didn't harbor the guy any ill and would make eye contact with a smile. Unnerving. But more than that, she was happy with herself and her present situation. At first she had just wanted to help the Krieger just to help him as a person but having a partner was, well, fun. It was like having a best friend who never got sick of you.

She acknowledged that this was not always the case, Soul and Maka for example still weren't talking even a year after he and she had fought against her and Ragnarok. As far as she knew it had something to do with the injury Soul received from her black sword. He became bitter and angry and unstable after that. He never got over it and became unreliable. The young Meister had been "reassigned" to another branch around the world, Maka hadn't heard from him since. Though Crona suspected she really didn't want to, they were close and the relationship sort of died.

The young girl looked ahead into the alley and felt all the breath sucked out of her lungs. Sitting on a crate ahead of her was Medusa, as alive as she had ever been, smiling at her with a casual as a matter of fact demeanor that made Crona feel very small. Like she had made an appointment precisely when Medusa had wanted her to.

"Crona"

The swordswoman took a step back clenching her heart.

"You-I-we thought-"

"Yes, I almost died but that's what I would have the academy continue to believe. Now listen I have a very important job for you" began Medusa, her eyes narrowing like a snake's with a smile to match.

Crona told herself this was a dream, Medusa was gone and she was just going to wake up and she had forgotten to do her homework. But she didn't, Medusa kept smiling and her heart kept beating like thunderclap over a dried out valley. Instantly she felt all her confidence and the warmth in her heart leave her, nothing remained but terror and obedience. In a breath she could see her future and all the trust and friendships she had built up blown out like a frail candle. Her instinct told her to run, to tell the academy and stay on the right path. But the eyes of her mother froze her legs into place and quelled her courage. She felt for the first time in a year, completely helpless in her life.

"You, Slave! I demand that you demonstrate your will is yet bound to the will of The People" yelled out another hooded figure behind Medusa. Crona could see the features of a Krieger under the cowl, as well as drastically smaller horns.

Like the crack of a whip Sergio was on his knees before them.

The young woman winced to see him kneeling like that. All the brightness in his face was gone, now only a dead obedience painted his expression.

"Good, the Slave has not been corrupted by this…spirit child. But why is he dressed?" asked the Krieger looking at Medusa who looked at Crona in turn.

"I-uh, I bought him some thread and a machine so he could make himself some clothing"

"You. Allowed him to make himself clothing?"

"Yes"

"You did not give them to him yourself"

"No"

The Krieger grimaced hatefully and drew a studded scourge from an unseen fold in his cloak.

"You forget your place Slave!" he screamed and struck Sergio across the chest as hard as he could ripping little clippings of live flesh from his chest.

Silent tears fell from the slave's eyes but no expression broke his impassive obedience.

As the Krieger drew back to strike the slave a second time Crona reached out and grasped the man's arm. Clear rage swelled in her heart and her mind, a singular blow that sundered Medusa's gorgon gaze upon the young girl. How dare he, this man. How dare he treat her partner, her friend like he was nothing. Like he was a slave!

Upon seizing the man's arm she crushed his wrist with force that shocked the clearly stronger man.

"What are you doing?" yelled the man as he attempted to push Crona away. His eyes became wild in an instant as he felt the mechanical force behind this frail and un-athletic girl's grip.

Medusa's smile died as she saw the event unfold. Something was wrong, anger was something she had never seen Crona display.

"Sergio will be free, and I will kill anyone who tries to hurt him ever again" whispered Crona quietly. Her gaze was downcast but the simple murder in her voice was clear.

The other Krieger drew his blade to strike Crona only to be blown back as well as Medusa by a wall of invisible energy coming from Sergio's outstretched hands. The force of a hurricane threw both adults out into the street along with all the containers in the alley.

"Crona, I am your mother. I love you, just listen to me we aren't going to hurt him" pleaded Medusa, quickly calculating how best to end them both.

"No!" yelled Crona, "You don't care about me anymore than The People care about Sergio. We're going to stop you, all of you!"

The swordswoman looked back at her partner for confirmation; all she saw was hesitance on his part. While he stood by her he had a pleading look, he didn't want to fight against The People.

"Slave you will obey me! You will obey the will of The People! Kill the spirit now!" screamed the other Krieger at the slave expecting his order to be followed through. He stood open mouthed to see that the slave held his ground and his pleading look had evaporated.

"You will be banished from The People, henceforth. You must slay her or be dead in the eyes of our Gods and The People have shown you so much kindness for your sin. You will be denied the afterlife!"

A dead silence exhaled between them. The Krieger was confused and getting progressively more frightened, and the Slave stood his ground, the same spread out his arms and legs into his fighting stance.

"This one does not wish to betray The People, but this one knows he cannot slay Crona"

The envoy came out of his fearful slouch and tried to rectify his stance to a commanding pose.

"Or rather, this one **will** not. This one would rather die"

"He's not buying it anymore" thought Medusa to herself, "He's tasted freedom and friendship".

The other Krieger drew a metallic baton from his belt and aimed it at Sergio, "You will be punished! By the weight of your betrayal be damned into everlasting agony!" screamed the envoy. With a flick of his wrist the metallic baton began to hum and its jewel began to glow. The slave shrieked in what was very real agony, reddish energy spread through the veins on his neck down his body like trickling poison, perfectly visible through his skin and bones.

Medusa began to smile again

"What a useful tool. I should develop one of my own too" she said, very obviously sizing up Crona's neck for a collar.

"You and your pet are coming with me" she said as she drew towards Crona, un-intimidated by the black sword in her hand or the disabled Krieger at her feet who had split his lip open as he bit down in an attempt to shut his mouth and the screaming that was ripping through his frame.

The daemon-swordswoman could see her life if she went with Medusa. She would lose everything she had ever wanted, her friends, Maka, her home and her school. She would get stronger and more afraid of everything. And her partner would die. With all her strength she pushed that future away.

In a flash Crona bent over and grabbed Sergio and at the same time Ragnarok erupted from her back sprouting dragon-like wings and took swift flight.

The witch and her escort both frowned as the pair disappeared into the night sky.

"I will return and report this to the Queen"

Medusa grimaced angrily, she was sure this was going to be easy, simple. If it was not for this cretin provoking her she would have had her assassin. But now, why had Crona rebelled so?

Then, the thought dawned on her.

Sympathy, from one free slave to one that's not quite there.

Though it wasn't all bad she knew. If she cared for him so, she could manipulate that. She could see the mutual love they held for one another, partners like that were each other's greatest weaknesses. And now that they had affirmed their bond, the weaknesses would only become more vulnerable.

-0-

Maka and Kidd were saying goodbye when Tsubaki came running back inside calling them to come out quickly. The plead was only accentuated by an agonized scream coming from the street.

They rushed out to see Sergio laying out in the middle of the street in front of Check's with Crona desperately trying to make him lie still with the help of Black Star who for once was saying nothing.

"What happened!"

"Medusa, she's back! Another Krieger used a some kind of a magical baton and now his collar is killing him" answered Crona half-way to crying.

She reached for his collar's back only to have Sergio block her between jerks and screams as reddish energy continued to wrack his body and bury itself deeper into his veins. Crona grasped his head and brought his face within a breath of hers with a desperate jerk.

"You chose me over The People, now you have to choose again. You can die or you can live. Please let me take the collar off you Sergio, more than anything in the world I don't want you to be in pain, I don't want you to die"

Saying this, Sergio's exhausted and pained eyes beckoned her as he continued to jerk his extremities and moan in his throat with pain that came in waves. Black Star propped him up with Maka and Crona reached around and unclasped the collar.

It dropped onto Sergio's lap who looked around disoriented at her. His eyes settled as the red glow left his circulatory system and he could only feel the light of the moon kissing the fading burn. The Krieger's eyes wandered quickly to his collar, then at the people around him then at his naked neck.

"This one can never go home now. The People will never have him again"

"Sergio, this is your home. And these people are the ones who care about you, not those who call you slave" said Tsubaki smiling at the young Krieger.

"You're free of them, whether you like it or not. You are one of us now"

When the reality of what had been done dawned on him he puked on Kidd's shoes.

While the son of Death was having his panic attack it took Sergio an instant to sober up as he looked at his collar and at his partner. The little home they had, the two people who lived in it and the spirits at the academy, he didn't want them hurt. He didn't want anyone to be hurt. He narrowed his eyes ahead as Crona helped him get up and begin walking to the academy (his legs were still wobbly). He was damned from the start and he knew it, but he would sooner die than see Crona get hurt.

He loved his friend too much to allow it.

-0-

Death stood quietly as his son and the rest of the youngsters explained Medusa's reappearance and the presence of a Krieger with her. He understood a piece of the chessboard now, Medusa and the Kriegers, Arachnophobia and the Kishins (if they had succeeded).

"Listen you guys. I want you all to stay here for the night. Tomorrow I will see about dealing with Medusa and the Kriegers"

"But dad-"

"No buts Kidd, they will be dealt with. But right now all you can do is rest"

Shooting down a few more protests he watched the procession leave.

Death couldn't speak for Medusa but he was aware that Arachnophobia was planning to get at another Kishin that was in stasis somewhere by the eastern coast. He had to deploy academy agents and troops and actually find the damned thing before they did, he hadn't the reason to lend credence to another Kishin threat because before Medusa appeared, Arachnophobia was debunked. There were no major threats in the world; there was peace.

Stepping in front of his mirror he called out and a tender voice answered.

"What is it my lord?"

"Ashaza, good evening. I didn't wake you did I?"

"You did lord, but I am happy to hear from you. Though I imagine that you are calling because something is wrong"

"Indeed there is my dear. Could you come to the academy tomorrow?"

"Of course, lord"

"You need any transportation? Are you sure you can make it?"

"Why, of course I can! I might be a hundred and eighty years old but I still have as much strength as I had when I was a young girl"

Death smiled, his retired Krieger partner was the third in a line of spectacular individuals. They had never disappointed him.

"Oh, and I have something that might interest you"

"Yes?"

"Another Krieger, a slave"

There was a brief silence, "Oh" the other person said simply.

"Yes, he's a spirited young man bound to another one of our Meisters"

"Is she treating him well?"

"She has been very warm with her partner. They've bonded very quickly. He doesn't even have a collar on anymore, she took it off him after he disobeyed another Krieger's order to slay his Meister. You know what that means"

After a long while with no response he deactivated his magic mirror. Disobedience on a slave's part meant death, but excommunication from The People also went without saying. But a slave without a collar, that hadn't happened in nearly seven hundred years, and with some good reasons. The noble line that carried The People through all those awful years of war could exhibit vast magical powers, and this made them tyrants. Until the king's betrayal and their subsequent enslavement.

But ever since Hell arrived in their world, who could blame them? Did they become monsters because of the powers in their blood? Or did they become monsters in order to fight the ones who had consumed their world?

Not a day went by that Death didn't feel a pang of guilt. Not a single time that he was in the presence of a Krieger did he not feel the need to apologize.


	7. Worries and Hugs: Strange New Feelings?

**I do not normally make comments on my fictions, however due to personal issues I went on a very long hiatus. This chapter and chapter eight have been re-edited, so as to not be confused please re-read from here. I felt I rushed things between Crona and Sergio, so here's take two.**

Sergio lay in a spare bed in the infirmary wing of the academy feeling naked and vulnerable. The comforting certainty of the metallic collar that had long since birth been a part of him was gone, confiscated by Death. There was so much he felt was out of place, the certainty his role in life had offered him was gone but his desires offered him the same clarity in a different way, before he left his fate to others but now his fate was in his own hands. Freedom had been forced upon him. He needed to protect Crona and Maka and the others from his own kind. The People had struck and alliance with Crona's mother, a witch by the name of Medusa, who had attempted and failed to awaken the daemon slumbering under the academy.

He couldn't believe that someone as obviously horrible as she was capable of producing someone as wonderful as Crona. Though now he did have a wonder, how had Crona come to be in the academy if she had once been its enemy? She did mention she had once been a slave in a way, perhaps Maka had bested her too? No, it felt more like an honest friendship, surely Crona betrayed her mother, surely. Of course she did, perhaps Medusa hadn't realized it when they were in the alley but of course Crona would side with the good. She had chosen the right side as he knew she would.

But what exactly was Ragnarok?

He made a mental note to ask Crona how he came to be inside her. Though it did not bother him overmuch, the little creature was a benign thing even if he was somewhat temperamental.

The Krieger's mind wandered again to The People and the witch that now helped them. Someone like her could only breed evil in the world and nothing else. She had to be ended as did the Queen, she who sought to make dealings with evil.

Then there was this other band of villains: Arachnophobia. They had to be dealt with at once yes, yes, yes.

And lastly the daemons that had slipped into this world, without a doubt he knew they would only cause pain and seek to bring Hell unto this new and untouched world. They had to be stopped or there would be another end of days.

He sighed quietly. Clarity. Everything was clear and sure to him. He knew what had to be done and how. And yet, he never imagined he'd take up arms against The People. He still felt uneasy about the idea. The People were the last of a nation that had been annihilated off the face of their world, and now for their obedience to the Queen they were falling off the path of righteousness and good into evil. At first it had been thrilling coming into this new world with their original intentions; a holy crusade to be brought forth unto these evil spirits, but only after a short time he had seen the good in them. Their kindness and their generosity, it was The People who were brutal and cold. He was ashamed to admit it. They were really good people, folk who stuck their necks out for each other, people who were noble and good and strong and brave.

A thought dawned on him and his self image as one of The People was tarnished slightly.

Were The People the nation of heroes he thought? Would they have been that kind of folk if Hell wasn't there?

He wracked his brain quietly, he wanted to believe they would have been. He wanted to believe in the inherent nobility and goodness that lived through all of The People. Even him. Especially him, the sole Krieger to have seen the humanity of the spirits and thrown his lot in with them despite the fact it had been through the laws of slavery that he had come to be with them. But that was not the point. He knew in the pit of his heart that he was doing the right thing in siding with them. But the others didn't know. He had to find a way to convince the Queen that the spirits were people to be befriended and helped and to coexist with. Not a people to target for genocide.

"What must this one do?" whispered the Krieger quietly.

"What must you do?" echoed Crona, looking up now the Krieger had noticed in the dim moonlight of the infirmary that she had turned over and was watching him.

"I've never seen anyone frown so much while thinking" she said, little more than a whisper.

"This one is wondering what he must do to draw The People away from Medusa. They are blind, the Queen also. They must be made to see the truth"

"And what's that?"

"That you are not evil. Nor Maka, nor the spirit of Death, nor the people of this world"

"But why do they follow her?"

"Because she is the Queen, because they must. And because we still believe that you are all evil spirits like the daemons, although this one knows better"

Crona smiled, warmly

"What was the plan when you all came here?"

The Krieger frowned and pushed his head sideways into his pillow.

"To kill all of you and make this new world our own"

There was a brief silence in the room, like the world held its breath.

"You see my beloved friend. This one knows about war. This one was taught that one cannot love in others what we cannot love in ourselves, this is the spirit of war. And it is because of this that this one has learned to hate the daemons. Because there is nothing in them but anger, and hate and evil, things this one cannot love or abide within himself. This is why this one will not stop until all daemons in this world lie dead and torn apart, this is something this one knows with certainty, because there is nothing in daemons that makes them tolerable in this world or mine"

Sergio felt cold as Crona regarded him impassively, then tucked half her head into her covers.

"But, because this one sees kindness and warmth within Crona, things this one loves within himself and seeks to nurture that this one has learned to love Crona deeply"

His master looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile. What was bothering her?

"No one's ever told me that they love me before. I'm afraid I don't know how to deal with it" she said quietly, grasping the words with her mind carefully like a present. Sergio imagined she would have been happier to have been told but she wasn't. Something was troubling her.

"Have you ever met daemons or anything like them that was, different?"

"Of course not. There is nothing but evil within a daemon"

"But let's say for an instant that I was a daemon and still treated you the way I do. What would you do? Hypothetically of course"

The Krieger looked at her casually, but with the sure certainty of a hypothetical answer.

"This one would kill you of course. If Crona was a daemon she would have been planning something nefarious. If you were a daemon you could have had no feeling inside you that would not have done harm unto others"

The conversation didn't pick back up, Crona curled up in her bed and turned around facing the wall. The Krieger worried and fussed as he tried to go to sleep but to no avail. Had he done something to offend Crona? It had just been an honest answer to a hypothetical question.

Shifting away from her partner Crona discarded the declaration of fraternal love with ease. The promise of death made it conditional and darkened the friendly words. It killed her to do it but she could never tell her friend the truth, she knew she would get killed. She couldn't raise her sword against him, someone so like her in origin and so wonderful in character.

"You know he'll kill us if he finds out" said Ragnarok quietly in her mind.

"So he better not! If he asks about how I got inside you tell him you were born this way. If he finds out the truth just put the moves on him and lie your ass off! And don't you dare get sentimental or selfish, if your head rolls so does mine!"

"I know Ragnarok, I won't tell him"

"You better not"

"I said I wouldn't ok"

"Yeah but this has me worried! An idiot like you can't keep a secret! Remember how you broke Tsubaki's vase and told her the truth?"

"But you broke it!"

"Exactly, and I made you promise not to tell but you told on me and now I can't have any candy at home! Good thing that fat cow moved out"

"Ragnarok…"

"I mean it though dumbass. You tell him and he will kill us both! He's a zealot and you know it, there is no room in him for mercy for daemons! They destroyed his world"

"I know, just shut up"

"And even though he chose you over his freak-a-zoid group there is no way he'll choose you again if he finds out you are part daemon"

"Just shut up!" said Crona loudly, then quickly slapping a hand over her mouth and briskly walking out of the room. She shuffled out of the room quickly as Sergio's eyes followed her out. She just needed to clear her head and get her act together.

"What crawled up her butt?" asked Black Star as he turned in his bed.

The rest of the group looked at one another through bleary eyes.

"This one will see to her. Return to rest my friends" said Sergio as he hopped out of his infirmary cot and followed after his master.

Maka's mind wandered quietly to intimacy as the shirtless Krieger followed after her. A pang of jealously touched her ego and the whispered thought rang out in her mind. "He should have been my partner".

-0-

Crona briskly walked out to the dry air of a summer night as she reached the tall overlooking balcony of the academy that overlooked the entire city and the surrounding lakes and forests. She rubbed her head sorely as she ran each scenario in her mind looking for a way to maintain harmony with her partner and not, well, die.

She really missed her corner in her old room in the dungeons of the academy.

"What troubles you my friend?"

Crona turned around and saw the form of her friend. Every detail of his skin, lit up in the glowing blue light of the moon. She turned around sheepishly, it was a little odd to just have him shirtless right there, she felt she shouldn't let her eyes linger. It was impolite.

"Nothing"

"You are lying to this one"

"I-I'm not"

"If Crona does not want to tell Sergio, this one understands" finished the Krieger with a hint of disappointment in his voice but with a smile on his face. He stood by her looking out at the city. The Meister remained by him looking out as well as if searching for the same indefinable point of interest he was looking at.

"Sergio"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever thought about what you are going to do if we win? Against the daemons and Arachnophobia I mean"

The Krieger looked at her openly and then frowned.

"This one doesn't know. This one was hoping he could live with Crona and remain partners. Does this partnership end at some point?" he asked quickly and nervously.

Crona blinked at him, then smiled reassuringly.

"Actually I was kind of hoping you'd say that. I really don't know what I'm going to do if we win. But about partnership, I think it's for life though I wouldn't want you to leave. I mean unless you really wanted to"

The swordswoman grimaced while looking away from the Krieger. She was no good at this, she wanted to let him know that she wanted him around always, but he was free to come and go as he pleased.

"But why would this one want to leave Crona?"

"I don't know, to find a nice Krieger girl maybe?"

"And do what?"

"You know" muttered Crona as she fidgeted with her dress. "Get married or something"

"Oh no" began Sergio with a disarmed gesture. "This one could never do that"

"If you say: because this one is a slave. I am going to pinch you"

Crona fumed at him silently. "You are a person, and if your people can't see that then they are being really dumb". She caught herself on the last word, she was going to curse (kind of a semi-new thing to her that she wasn't sure if she liked) and didn't want to be offensive.

"This one was not going to say that. It is simply that no _Krieger_ woman would ever have him if he ever chose to attempt to court her" he explained shyly. Sergio clenched at his chest nonchalantly as the words escaped his mouth. He was very anxious and Crona looked so, lovely.

He felt like he wanted to stroke her hair.

Very inappropriate, she was his master.

Crona felt scared for a brief instant. His explanation seemed premeditated, like he steered this conversation purposefully because he wanted to tell her something. Oh no, was he lovesick with some girl she didn't know? Oh God no, worse. Did he have something for Maka? They were growing closer and played rowdy often, they would cook breakfast together as a new habit and they were always chatting away behind her on the way to school like they were conspiring. Was Sergio trying to tell her that? Oh no, oh no, oh no! She loved them both but she definitely didn't like the idea of them together. It was selfish and stupid and she didn't know why she didn't like it but she just didn't, he was her partner, not Maka's. She kicked herself internally. No he was free to do whatever he wanted she shouldn't hold him back because she was jealous with her friend. Why was she feeling so anxious? It was just Sergio she was speaking to.

"Umm, did you have someone in mind?" she asked quietly, trembling imperceptibly out of sheer nerves.

She noticed how his eyes seemed to widen for an instant then settle as he looked out at the city. He gulped quietly and closed his eyes as if to deny them something.

"Well, do you?"

Crona imagined the words escape his mouth "Maka", two syllables and two consonants spoken in his particular voice and subtle accent. She followed his expression as he opened his eyes carefully and glanced at her hands on the railing. Almost as if dragging the rest of his head in their wake his eyes grasped hers with an honest gaze that lasted an instant. She felt her heart flutter at the same time her stomach clenched as to puke. The seconds stretched out for what seemed like awkward minutes as she noticed he looked equally sick. He then recoiled away from her and breathed deeply.

"This one has made a fool of himself. Please excuse him" said the Krieger as he stepped away from her very quickly towards the academy doors.

"No wait! Don't go! Tell me are you thinking about someone?"

The Krieger shied away from her gentle grasp of her hands, almost as if running away from the question.

"Please tell me"

Sergio remained quiet and confused.

"If its Maka, just-just know that I won't get in the way. I promis-"

Before she could continue Sergio tilted his head and kissed her on the cheek. Crona froze instantly as did Sergio once he realized what he was doing. He pulled away from her carefully and would not meet her gaze. Awkward silence stretched on between the two until Sergio began to shake and ran away.

The swordswoman shook her head sharply. Had that really just happened?

"Don't question your good fortunes you idiot! I told you he has a crush on you!"

"Ragnarok, I want you to be quiet for a little while"

Crona smiled widely, but it died as quickly as it had been come. The Krieger liked her didn't he? But if that was true, why did he look so pained and sick?

Why did he run away?

-0-

Sergio smacked the side of his head loudly as he walked down the hallway to the infirmary. "No, no, no. This cannot be, this one cannot. NO! To Hell with my station, this one will do as he pleases". The conflicting boldness of his statement and his humility fought against one another as the Krieger wrestled with what he was feeling, equal parts terror and excitement. He wanted to hold Crona tightly and keep her close, his master and friend. But there was something in there as well that he couldn't recognize. Warmth he couldn't define. But this could not be, he was vile and wretched and monstrous he did not deserve to be happy. Afterall, who could ever love him? The only comfort he could ever draw from love was that despite his new friends he would never find a woman who would want him.

Oh gods, he had just kissed his Meister hadn't he? Sergio sped up his pace as he languished under the knowledge that he was now a tramp.

He continued his walk down the hall and past the infirmary. Muttering stern admonitions onto himself and walking barefoot down the hall. He didn't notice when Maka poked her head out of the infirmary and looked at him with curiosity, her eyes lingering on him for an instant too long.

"Sergio? Is that you?" called out a familiar voice from the classroom a few doors down. It came from Francesca who was in her comfortable pajamas. Which was to say a t-shirt and a pair of short shorts.

"What are you doing up so late? Are you alright?"

"Umm, yes this one is just anxious is all"

"About what?"

"Crona"

"Well, I was just doing a little late night research but come in and we can talk"

As the Krieger struggled to begin to explain Francesca grabbed his hand with a girlish smile and tugged him conspiratorially into the classroom.

Maka followed the pair with her eyes in a wide expression of concern as the door shut in the quiet and private classroom. The young Meister listened as hard as she could and she heard a giggle from the room. She couldn't believe that Francesca was doing what she thought she was doing.

"Maka what are you doing?" asked a voice behind her and she turned startled to Crona who seemed awkward and tense.

"What did you and Sergio talk about?"

Crona frowned and looked thoughtful "I think Sergio likes me" she explained simply.

"Hate to break it to you but I think you have competition. Francesca just pulled him into her classroom" said Maka with more feeling than was appropriate though Crona didn't seem to mind.

"Wh-what? Why? What should I do?"

"Nothing, just let them be"

No sooner had Maka said that, the door to Francesca's classroom opened and shut quickly with the Krieger holding the doorknob shut. Neither girl could make out what Francesca pleaded through the door but the Krieger answered in his own mother tongue brusquely and the woman quieted. Swiftly he came to the two girls and stopped short. He refused to make eye contact.

"I do not like Scholar Francesca anymore"

With a quick shiver he slid between Maka and Crona blushing uncomfortably as he faced the latter and shuffled into his bed and wrapped his sheet over himself creating a bizarre shape because of his horns.

Maka curled up in her own cot and tried to fall asleep despite her sour mood.

Crona laid in her bed, watching the Krieger under his covers with her peripheral vision. Why had he run away after kissing her? Was there something wrong with her?


End file.
